Archive | Tips for Sellers
Starting January 1, 2012, residential and commercial property sales in all of Placer County must participate in Section 303 of Rule 225, Wood Burning Appliances, Sale or Transfer of Real Property.
Section 303 prohibits the sale of real property with a non-EPA Phase II Certified free-standing woodstove. Non-compliant freestanding woodstoves do not have to be replaced or removed, but must be made permanently inoperable. Fireplaces, inserts, gas stoves, pellet stoves and dedicated cook stoves are exempt.
For more information on this mandatory measure, visit our website.
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Days are getting shorter, the weather is getting colder, and the holidays are right around the corner. Now is the time to make your house look the best and make the most out of selling your home. This time of year often signals a slowing down in the real estate market. What better time to make your home stand out from all the rest. Just a few simple things will put you ahead of the competition.
Paying attention to curb appeal is first and foremost. It is the first impression a buyer has as they pull up to your home. Make sure leaves are raked and shrubs and bushes are pruned. Plant some cold weather loving flowers such as mums or pansies to add color to a fading flower bed. Add some fall decorating with a pumpkin or two and a wreath. Too much decorating detracts from the house so keep it modest and simple. Just a touch goes a long way and helps a buyer envision themselves living there instead of focusing on your decorations.
Lighting is also very important with shorter daylight hours. Open the blinds during the day to bring in as much light as possible. Make sure exterior and interior lights are on for later in the day showings. Set the thermostat at a comfortable temperature. Buyers won’t linger for very long if they are freezing to death and the house is dark. If there is a fireplace make it a focal point in the room. Light some scented candles. All of these things will make your home feel very welcoming and homey.
Another essential tip is to update your listing photos. Most of the time the buyer’s first impression of your home is online through photos. If your home has been listed for a while and the pictures were taken in the summer or winter your listing looks old and outdated. There is no better way to bring the life back to your listing and make it look new and exciting again. If you are just now considering selling take advantage of these tips and make the most of the season changing to make your house look its best.
Call or email me today for some additional tips and advice or to discuss your selling options. 775.303.7871 or dboscarello@dicksonrealty.com
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Selling a house can be a very hectic time with so many things to be done. The single most-important thing to do to prepare your home for sale is to de-clutter. I cannot emphasize it enough. Get a head start on moving by packing up boxes in the very beginning of things you don’t need right now such as books, toys, seasonal clothes and personal belongings like photos. Clean out your closets and pack up old clothes and shoes that will never get worn again and donate them to charity. Think of how nice it will be when you don’t have to do this when it is time to move. When potential buyers walk through your door they will be in awe at the beautiful house and not the clutter. They will be able to visualize themselves living there with their own furniture and their own belongings instead of seeing your photos and memories everywhere. By doing this you have just increased the chances of your home selling quickly and for the price you want.
The photos below show examples of a cluttered kitchen vs. a clutter free and organized kitchen. What a huge difference it makes! For more information or questions please give me a call at 775.303.7871.
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Not if I have anything to say about it!
The FBI reported a jump of 71% in mortgage relief fraud investigations from 2008-2009, and expects this number to have grown in 2010.
That’s why it’s my duty to educate homeowners in my community on the cautions they need to take, and what the government has recently done to protect you from unscrupulous individuals and companies who want to take advantage of their desperate situations.
What you need to watch out for if you are looking for mortgage relief assistance:
- Upfront fees—just don’t pay them! In fact, they are now illegal!
- A request to sign over your deed (this only spells trouble)
- Lots of paperwork without the opportunity for review
- The claim of government-affiliation
These are just a few red flags you need to be wary of. I’ve created a free report on the homepage of my website that details more of what you need to watch for.
I f you are struggling with an unaffordable mortgage and are looking for help, educate yourself. These scammers can be very shrewd and will say almost anything to steal your money.
The Federal Trade Commission has required disclosures of anyone offering mortgage relief services. If you’d like to see an example, check out any of the pages of my website. If a company you are dealing with has not provided these disclosures, please ask why they are not compliant, and proceed with caution!
As a CDPE and a Dickson Realty agent, you can trust that I have the tools to be in full compliance of FTC regulations, and will always work with your best interests at heart.
CLICK HERE FOR FORECLOSURE ALTERNATIVES
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In today’s real estate market with a large inventory of homes for sale it is critical to prepare your home to “sell”. De-cluttering, rearranging furniture, de-personalizing and good lighting are just a few things that can make the difference between your home and the house next door. Consider looking at your house through the eyes of a buyer. What would your impression be when you first walk through the front door?
There are professional Home Staging companies that will come to your home and take care of the process for you. But, if you’re on a tight budget there are many simple ways to take the task on yourself. Some real estate agents will even add in this service as a part of listing your home for sale. Home staging will improve the home’s appearance, leading to selling the home more quickly and for the highest possible price. And after all, isn’t that the ultimate goal for a home seller?
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The California Association of Realtors has just launched a new website, http://www.shortsalescalifornia.org/, to help members as well as consumers stay on top of all the latest news and insider tips on the ever-changing short sale process.
With information for both consumers and REALTORS®, the website is full of need-to-know resources about short sales, and provides up-to-the-moment news, legislative information, legal tips, and lender requirements.
Short Sales California is also a place to stay up-to-date on C.A.R.’s activities to enable more families to arrange a short sale.
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Had enough of the snow? Or maybe you are thinking of downsizing since the kids are gone? Whatever your reason to sell, you may want to consider putting your home on the market sooner rather than later. Summer is our area‘s traditional selling season, and when we see the most inventory of active listings. That’s great – for buyers. If you wait, you might not stand out in the crowd and could end up selling your home for less.
Right now, interest rates are still good and the worry is that they will be rising. Inventory is tight and buyers are frustrated by the lack of choices. There is a surprising lack of move-in ready homes in many neighborhoods. Now is the time to take advantage of this situation as a seller. If you have thought about selling, why not contact us for a free market analysis of your property? We can help you with all the details from staging to repairs, if necessary, and get you top dollar for your home.
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In a recent study, the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index found that a full 36% of Americans would consider “strategic default”—another term for walking away from your mortgage—if they were underwater (owed more on their home than what it was worth).
Now that more than one in four American homeowners is “underwater,” I feel that it’s important for the community to know the truth about strategic default.
The truth is the foreclosure process carries with it credit issues, current and future employment challenges, issues with security clearance and possible debt collections.
That’s why it is vital to explain the 3 reasons why the term “strategic default” is misleading:
- There’s nothing strategic about defaulting on purpose, especially when you have options like short sales, mortgage modifications, and refinance (just to name a few) that may keep you from foreclosure.
- The waiting periods to apply for a new mortgage loan are at least five years less in a short sale vs. a foreclosure.
- A foreclosure will show up on your credit report every time you apply for a home loan, car loan, new job, etc., and will affect your financial situation for many years to come.
Foreclosures in Washoe County increased by 16% in January 2011 over December 2010, and up 23% over January 2010.
If you are underwater and can no longer afford your mortgage payments, you need to create a genuine strategy to avoid foreclosure, helping to provide stability for you and our community.
If you have any questions about what steps you or someone you care about should take next, contact me today – 775.813.2387!
I offer a free report at http://www.KevinBown.com
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While still too early in the year to make bold predictions, Truckee-based Clear Capital, a real estate valuation firm, says that there is a slight uptick in home prices – the first since mid-August 2010. The Clear Capital spokesman cited that this is the first “non-incentivized” change in prices since the economic downturn began.
Based on sales transactions through the end of January, the company’s report says “national home prices have turned the corner.” Clear Capital adds that this observed change in prices is especially meaningful as the first months of the year are typically affected by the seasonal slowdown in sales activity.
Additionally, Clear Capital cites that one reason for the increase in prices might be the slowing rate of sale of REO properties. According to the company’s latest report, the most recent rolling quarter for REO saturation has slowed considerably after gaining 3.2 percent during Q3 2010, with national REO rates only climbing 1.4 percent.
“A decrease in REO saturation indicates that an increasing proportion of fair market transactions are occurring, and as the level of distressed transactions decrease, prices tend to increase since the overall market value for an area is less affected by distressed comparable sales,” Clear Capital explained.
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Effective January 1, 2011 the State of Nevada will be requiring the seller or a certified inspector to complete a 4 page form that will then be provided to the home buyer. Click here to see the new regulation. The required form has the seller providing information about the home, monthly energy consumption for the past 12 months, information on any energy efficient improvements to the property, the use of Energy Star rated appliances, etc.
Sellers should be receiving a copy of the form when they list their property so that the form can then be provided to the buyer. The form can be waived if agreed upon by both the buyer and the seller.
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011 By: Gigi & Corky Heckendorn
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