Creating Back Yard Appeal
In selling a home it is imperative that a seller creates a significant amount of curb appeal for their home. Without this element it can be extremely difficult to garner the kind of attention that is necessary to distinguish one home from another on the real estate market. However, in creating curb appeal, one must not overlook the necessity of creating an overall “yard appeal” that includes the backyard and all the elements that make your yard a special place. The back yard is a real area of respite and relaxation for most families, it is also a place where kinds can play safely, families can gather and eat, and where the family dog spends most of their time.
There are several ways to improve the look of a backyard before listing a home. Think of your backyard as an area for curb appeal, without the curb. As with any yard staging, cleanliness is going to be a key factor. Take some time to get rid of any accumulated junk that may be in the yard. Old building materials, bits of wood and branches any anything else that could clutter up a yard should be quickly removed. The next logical step is to take care of the lawn. This is a step that can take some time to get right so it pays to plan ahead. Start the process of bringing the lawn into top condition a month or two ahead of time so that it has time to take advantage of fertilizers and other growth and color enhancer’s. The same foresight also applies to the gardens if there are any. Try to plan ahead and get flowers planted so that they will be ready and in full bloom for the summer shows. Also take the time to prune the trees and shrubbery in the yard. Finally you can work on the little things that will improve anyone’s experience of being in the yard at any time of the day. This includes things like awnings, solar lanterns and other lighting as well as any other cosmetic touches that improve the yard’s appearance.
Backyards are a huge part of any home’s overall presentation. It is an area that lends itself to family gatherings and during the summer can function as an outdoor room, if set up properly. In areas where the summer seems to last all year, the yard is definitely a factor in a home sale. If the yard has something such as a pool or hot tub this becomes a focal point for the home and should be treated as such. Making your yard all that it can be will only serve to improve the home’s presence on the market and increase the value to buyers.
Gary Ashton is a real estate broker specializing in <a href="http://www.nashvillesmls.com/buyers.php">Nashville real estate</a>. Start your search today at www.nashvillesmls.com. For the finest homes and properties in Nashville, Tennessee check out the <a href="http://www.nashvillesmls.com/nashville-mls.php">Nashvilles MLS</a> soon.
How Meaningful are Real Estate Appraisals?
Real estate appraisals are totally subjective and often are not an accurate way to determine the value of a property in some markets. Since the recent sharp decline of property values and the new loan guidelines by lenders, not even the most professional appraiser can any longer say with absolute certainty what a property is worth. Real estate appraisers can and will give a subjective value for what a property should be worth, but even these numbers are open to scrutiny.
Because of infrequent sales, the offering prices of homes in some areas of the country are sinking faster than homes are selling. So anyone looking at comparable sales is seeing sales from months before that traded well above what a similar home can be bought for currently. This phenomenon occurs when home sellers become desperate to sell and believe that only the price of the home matters to a buyer. Unfortunately, for other homeowners, this panic to sell brings down values throughout the neighborhood.
An appraiser will readily admit that his price estimate or appraised value of a home is an educated, but always subjective guess. In the final analysis, his strongest parameter for pricing a single family residence is a comparable sale in the same neighborhood. Unfortunately, these comparable sales can be skewed by a number of factors including distressed sales, seller concessions at closing that are not part of the public record, transfers for estate or tax purposes, realtor commissions included in the sales price, long periods between sales, and property exchanges that use a factious market value as a basis for the transfer.
I know an individual who recently sold his home for $405,000, which was well above fair market value of $340,000 for his neighborhood. At closing he paid a $24,300 realtor’s commission, gave the buyer a $15,000 seller’s concession at closing, included his new furniture which he just paid $16,700, and paid closing costs for the buyer of $5,800. His net on this transaction was $343,200. However, an appraiser will see $405,000 on the public record and if he used this value to determine the cost per square foot as a guideline, his appraisal would be too high for the next property. The appraiser will see that the property was sold through a realtor , but he will not know about the seller concession or furniture which overvalue the sale by $31,700. Similar homes in this area were listed at the same time for $310,000 to $330,000 but hadn’t sold, so how much value should be placed in the $405,000 sale?
I recently received a call from an excited investor about a seller who was asking $200,000 for her property which, according to ten comparable sales, was worth $280,000. The investor had used a mile radius and six months previous sales as his parameters. By simply adjusting the comparables to a mile radius and two months back, the comparables showed $212,000 as a fair market value. What a difference a mile and a few months make to the expected sales price or value of theproperty. Had the investor jumped at the “opportunity” to purchase the property below market value, he certainly would have suffered a loss when you include carrying, sales, and repair costs.
In summary, in this market, the way for an investor or homeowner to get the best estimate of what a property is worth is to start with the moststringent guidelines, specifically, one month previous sales and only those within mile of the subject property. Next the seller or buyer should look out mile and back three months at actual sales to get comparable values. Most importantly, it is now imperative that buyers and sellers look at open listings on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) or on Realtor.com and carefully check the sale by owner offerings in the neighborhood. Armed with this information, a buyer or seller can get a significantly better idea of FMV, even if it is not what he expects.
Dave Dinkel has over 30 years experience in real estate investing which has given him a unique perspective into the workings of the real estate market. He has developed a CD entitled "How to Sell Your Home in as Little as 72 Hours", available at no cost for a limited time by going to <a href="http://www.fsbotlc.com">www.fsboTLC.com</a> and he shares even more techniques and secrets in his homeowner's home study course at <a href="http://www.fsboautopilot.com">www.FSBOautopilot.com</a>
Home Flipping In Colorado
With “home flipping mania” sweeping the country, everyone wants to get in on the game and make some money. The unfortunate reality of market, however; is the simple fact that the country’s markets are cooling off and a real “buyer’s market” is emerging. This is true of many areas across the country but there are a few places where the real estate market was not really subject to the fluctuations of the market over the past years and indeed, the market has seen only steady improvement. Colorado is a great example of this. For many years while the country’s major markets saw a huge jump in value and popularity, Colorado’s market showed a small and steady increase over many years. This slower growth gave the Colorado market a more stable base and allowed the communities to grow along with the market values.
It is unfair to say that the national market has entered a slump, but what is true is that home values have decreased somewhat and there are far fewer buyers than there were in the past years. Home sellers are having to compete more and more to get the good qualified buyers and as such those good qualified buyers are able to be more choosy. In spite of this market, Colorado has remained a great place to flip homes. The steady increase and the desirable areas such as Breckenridge that offer year-round activity have brought a great amount of value to the market and created a great environment for home flipping.
Flipping a home is all about finding the right market for the home you want to flip and in Breckenridge the market to go after is the vacation home market. The vacation home market is one that has also seen considerable growth in Colorado. As this state is home to the best skiing in the U.S.A. it is highly desirable to a certain type of home buyer. Marketing a newly renovated home in ski country can be an exciting thing to do as these kind of homes usually feature excellent access to the mountain, amazing scenery and great home value.
Kelli Bennett is a real estate agent specializing in Breckenridge real estate. www.kellisells.com is your leading site for all your Summit County and Breckenridge real estate needs. Contact Kelli today for more info.
Real Estate: Playing On First Impressions
When you meet someone for the first time you get an impression of that person, it can dictate how you deal with them and has bearing on the relationship that you may or may not have. The same hold true for home sales. Within the first few minutes of seeing a home buyers have usually already decided whether or not the home is a viable option for them. First impressions are a powerful thing and as a home seller you need to ensure that your home has a dynamic first impression on not only the buyers that come to view the home but to their agents who may have other clients looking at the same time. There will be two distinct first impressions that buyers get when arriving at your home, the first impression of the yard and the first impression of the home’s interior.
Getting these two areas ready for showing should be the focus of the time preceding any show. It can be a bit of a chore to keep things in tip-top shape especially if you are still living in the home. But, it has to be done, sometimes on a daily basis. In thinking about the front of the home one must realize that this is one of the most important impressions that a home will make. What buyers see when they pull up in front of the home has the ability to drastically alter someone’s perception of the home if it is not what they saw in the original pictures. Use those photos as a guide to what people are expecting to see. If it looks even better than the photos, fantastic! Garbage and yard waste is a killer to this image so be sure to get rid of anything that might be considered waste before the showing starts.
As with the front of the house, buyers have likely seen pictures of your home’s interior and those pictures should not lie. In fact people should be even more impressed with the home in reality. As the buyer moves from room to room there should be no unpleasant surprises and nothing unexpected unless it is a special feature that you did not have photographed. The first impression that anyone has of a home should definitely be that its clean as a whistle and in good condition. That impression should continue as buyers move their way through the home and at the end of the show their first impression should have extended into an impression that is good enough to make an offer. Remember how finicky you were when you bought your home? Play to this and the show will come off beautifully.
Christian Jacobsen is a long-time <a href="http://www.utahpropertyfinder.com/search.php">Utah real estate</a> agent and resident, who works state-wide bringing families and homes together. Christian's knowledge and experience make him the ideal choice when looking for a new home or property in Utah. <a href="http://www.utahpropertyfinder.com/contact.php">Contact Christian</a> today or visit the Jacobsen Team at www.utahpropertyfinder.com.
For Sale = On Stage
There is a reality of the real estate market that is often overlooked. When selling a home, it is basically on show or on stage 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Sellers need to remember this fact as even though it may be 11 pm, prospective buyers may still drive past the home and even at that point what they see should be impressive. You may not be wanting to show your home late at night but your home is “on stage” no matter what time it is. What this means for any seller is that their home must be in show condition no matter what time of day or night it is. The last thing any seller wants to do is to have to clean like a maniac at the last minute to accommodate a quick show. Unfortunately one thing that happens a lot with a home sale is the “drive by show.” This is a completely unplanned show that occurs when buyers and their realtors are having a quick drive around the available homes in the area and they see something they like and don’t want to wait to see what lies inside. Most realtors will bristle at doing shows on the fly like this but ask yourself if you can really afford to lose a prospective sale?
It can be a chore keeping the home in show condition as show condition and living condition are usually two different things. Daily living does tend to create a bit of a mess, especially if children and pets are part of the equation. It does not take a huge effort to make sure that things stay in pristine condition on a daily basis. You may have to learn to live without a few things as if the home is professionally staged, usually there will be some things that get stowed away as they are unnecessary to the showing of the home. Ideally home shows will be scheduled and you will have the appropriate time to prepare for them but as I stated before, those last minute, no-notice shows can happen. If they do happen then you need to be ready for them. If someone absolutely has to see your home at the last minute without notice it could mean that they are desperate to buy. It could be that they have to transfer to the area and get settled quickly or any number of other reasons. No matter what they are, if a buyer is needing to buy, you must be ready to show them your home. This will be much easier if you don’t have to tell them to wait for 20 minutes while you clean up the dinner mess or something of the like.
Steve Proski is a realtor who specializes in the purchase and sale of Scottsdale real estate For all your real estate needs in Scottsdale contact Steve or visit us on the web at http://www.az-homes4u.com
Using Owner Financing the Right Way to Sell Your Home
Given the present economical conditions and the large amount of homes for sale, you need to become a creative seller to have your home sold quickly and for top dollars. To do so, you must be able to offer people different alternatives and reasons to buy your home.
One of the best ways to attract buyers is by offering buyers owner financing. National statistics show that sellers offering owner financing attract three times the number of potential buyers. With three times the buyers, it’s more likely that you’ll sell your home faster.
The reason this method works so well is because many people are scare to fill a mortgage application or have been turned down in the past for a loan and don’t want to repeat the same experience.
However, there are some disadvantages when using owner financing. The main problem has been that it forces the seller of the home to hold a note for a long period of time. Since most people need the money to get into a new home, the owner financing option has not been a realistic solution for people needing to sell their home quickly.
However, to go around this problem you can simply contact a note buyer in your area and set it up so that the note buyer will buy the note you just created at the point of closing. Usually, you’ll end up getting about 91% of the value of the home. Although this may seem as a big discount, you need to realize that by offering owner financing, you’ll sell your home sooner and for a higher prices since there will be more people interested.
To find local note buyers, you can do a local search using Google.com. After you get a few numbers, call them and ask them a few questions such as:
- Do they buy residential notes?
- How much seasoning must the notes have? (How long has it been from the creation of the note to date?)
- What kind of discount do they offer?
To find more information, please go to http://miamimortgagehome.com/For_Sale_By_Owner.html or email igorbuces@gmail.com .
Igor Buces is a certified mortgage broker in Florida. He specializes in helping for sale by owners to sell their homes quickly with diffferent types of creative financing.
Ok, anyone who has ever purchased or sold a home should be familiar with the concept of contract subjects. For those who have never heard the term, I will explain in more detail. During a home sale there are a number of negotiations that happen between the concerned parties. Sometimes they are detailed on paper if they are of enough importance, these are known as subjects. Subjects occur after the initial offer for the home is made when the buyer would like certain changes made to the home. Below we will explore some of the more typical subjects involved in real estate contracts.
By far the most common subject is “subject to the home passing an inspection.” This means that the buyer’s offer is subject to the home’s passing of a legitimate inspection by a verified and legal inspector. Therefore the buyer has the right to rescind the offer if the home does not pass the inspection. However, that leads us to further subjects. IF a home does not pass the inspection then the buyer may alter their subjects to incorporate the necessary repairs to ensure that the home does eventually pass. These will typically read some thing like “subject to the necessary repairs being made to the home at the cost of the buyer.” Now, usually the subject will go into more detail about the fixes that are necessary; but as we aren’t making an actual offer here the preceding statement is a bit of a blanket statement. Let’s use the example of a faulty roof on a home. The buyer has an inspector come in and do their thing. The report comes back saying that there are leaks in the roof and on that basis the home does not pass. The buyer can then make the subject of “upon completion of a new roof with warranty.” If the seller accepts this subject they are then responsible for the installation of the new roof and upon completion the sale can go ahead as outlined in the contract.
Sellers can also utilize subjects during the contract process to put rules or guidelines on the transaction. The most common of these is a subject to omit certain items from the sale of the home. For instance, the seller has just purchased an expensive custom range and grill and when they move they are planning to take it with them. Their subject will clearly state that in the sale of the home, the new range is not part and parcel of the deal. This kind of subject can also apply to window coverings, other appliances, or indeed anything that the seller wants to take with them, provided that it is agreed upon by both parties.
Pay close attention to the subjects in real estate contracts as they are of paramount importance. If there are any questions regarding the wording of a particular subject don’t hesitate to confer with your realtor as to exactly what it means. You should never agree to anything without knowing exactly what it refers to.
<p>Joshua Keen is a real estate agent located in Atlanta, Georgia. The Keen Team specializes in the sale and purchase of <a href="http://www.realsourcebrokers.com" target="_blank">Intown Atlanta real estate</a>. When looking for <a href="http://www.realsourcebrokers.com" target="_blank">Atlanta MLS Listings</a>, contact Ben and Joshua for the best Atlanta realty services!</p>
Home Shows: Mobile Homes
Home shows are the fuel of the real estate industry. No matter what kind of home you have there is the necessity of it’s proper showing when up for sale. Different kinds of homes will automatically show differently. Smaller homes have to learn to maximize their available space in a way that larger homes do not. Mobile homes are a great example of this. In today’s high-stakes market, mobile homes are a favorite option for young people buying their first home and retirees who are looking for something simple and easy to maintain. But the one thing that everyone wants in a home is space, enough space to fit their belongings and this feeling of space must be evident in the show.
Freeing up space is one thing that many home owners have difficulty with. There is a hesitancy to remove pieces of furniture and items that have been part of the home for years. In a mobile home there is typically a smaller amount of space than an average single family home so space is at a premium. Home staging theory says that if something is not used on a daily basis then it can probably be done without during the showing of the home. There should be a feeling of openness in the home and buyers should not be encumbered by large pieces of furniture and other items. After all, you are to be moving soon so why not get a head start on the packing? Get rid of everything that you can do without. If you already have a place to move to then that makes it easy, if not consider a small storage unit.
The same theory of organization applies to the exterior of a mobile home as well. Typically with mobile homes we are dealing with a smaller piece of land (pad) and as such it is vitally important that what is there is clean and orderly. Working with reduced space can be a bonus for those who are not as mobile or simply do not have the time to tend to a big yard. This is not to say that a special feeling cannot be created in a smaller space, merely that one has to carefully consider all the aspects of the area and make a plan on how to maximize the impact that the smaller space has. With some intelligent modification and some creativity you should be able to create a great presentation for your mobile home show.
Nelson Stewart is a representative of the best Gated Community in Arizona. The Palm Gardens Arizona 55 Community Come visit our site and see what the best in senior living can be Contact us anytime or visit us online at http://www.palmgardensonline.com