Tips for Home Sellers

Even with rising values and reduced inventory in certain markets, selling a home remains challenging. Buyers expect not just a shiny new stainless sink but pruned hedges, freshly painted walls, glistening hardwood floors, and more. Making everything look great can cost a pretty penny. Prioritize based on the condition of what’s needed most, what buyers in the area typically request, what competing houses offer and — of course — cost. Here’s a list of 25 affordable, easy-to-make changes:


1. Add power outlets with USB ports in rooms that lack them, especially in the kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms where they’re most needed. Younger, more tech-savvy couples and individuals love them.

2. Eliminate acoustic popcorn-style ceilings since they look dated and tacky. *note: some may contain asbestos-Scott

3. Remove exposed posts and half walls. Today’s buyers want more space, and partial walls and posts gobble up room. The only walls that should remain are those that offer privacy or conceal electrical wires or plumbing stacks.

4. Update wiring for the Internet and flat-screen TVs. You don’t have to run CAT-5 through walls, which can be costly and require opening and closing and repainting walls. Instead, find a place to put a wireless router.

5. Clean carpets and wood floors since they’re often the first part of a room that buyers check out; you don’t need to replace them unless they’re in terrible shape. A good carpet steam cleaning or wood floor waxing can be relatively inexpensive, sometimes less than $200.

6. Expand a small kitchen to make it work better and look larger. Two quick fixes: Change the backsplash by adding mirrors, stainless steel, or paint, which will introduce light and views. You may want to add an island, which requires only 30” between counters and the island to pass through comfortably. If there’s not enough room for an island, bring in a rolling cart with pull-out shelves underneath and a wood top.

7. Clear out and clean a garage, a big selling feature. Power wash the floor or paint it if it’s in bad shape, remove dated cabinets, and remove all junk that’s been stored there, so prospects can see how much space they would have for their stuff.

8. Change out corroded or dented door knobs and levers. The replacements don’t have to be expensive but they should look new and clean.

9. Pay attention to landscaping, which can add 7 to 15 percent to a home’s value. Focus on mowing grass, removing crab grass, and eliminating dead plants and tree branches. It is better to have dirt and the potential to paint a picture for the buyers’ mind than a backyard full of dead plants. But if you have extra funds, consider: adding seasonal colors through blooming annuals and perennial plants. Remove problems like too much noise from traffic or neighbors by installing an inexpensive fountain with trickling water.

10. Paint exterior windows, doors, gutters, downspouts, and trim, then go inside and paint the home’s trim, doorways, and walls that are in need of freshening. Don’t worry about the colors but consider those that veer toward quiet and comfort such as Benjamin Moore’s Yosemite Sand, Edgecomb Gray, or Carrington Beige. Gray is a hot interior color now. Painting rooms lighter colors such as white, yellow, and beige help to bounce and reflect sunlight and use more natural and less artificial light. But in cooler months, dark colors such as deep brown and blue absorb sunlight, thereby reducing heating costs. And don’t forget ceilings, which can be a “fifth wall.” You can improve them with paint or old-style metal or faux-metal tiles.

11. Remove outdated wallpaper, replacing it with paint and preferably a neutral color.

12. Remove, store, or discard excessive accessories on tabletops and walls and in cabinets. Less is more, and you want the house to be seen by prospective buyers without the distraction of too many personal items. Leave out only three things on any surface.

13. Get the house inspected before it’s listed to know its condition and identify any structural issues that could derail sales. Many problems can’t be detected by an untrained eye, including those in a basement, crawl space, or attic. There might be roof damage or a plumbing leak. Many inspectors take photos and provide a detailed report. If you have repairs made, they should be handled by a qualified licensed contractor.

14. Outfit closets for extra storage to make rooms look larger and less cluttered, but you don’t redo all closets elaborately. Top contenders for redos are an entry closet for a good first impression, kitchen pantries where storage is key, and a linen closet to keep sheets, towels, and other stuff neat. These costs needn’t be excessive. A linen closet can be fitted with baskets and cubbies.

15. Tighten a home’s “envelope” to improve energy efficiency and savings. Put money and effort into well-insulated double-paned windows, sealed furnace ducts, energy-efficient appliances, the newest programmable thermostats, LED and compact fluorescent lights, and a smart irrigation box on a sprinkler to cut water usage. After a few months, sellers can show buyers how costs have dropped. You can put together a green manual to show which features have been added.

16. Improve a home’s healthfulness by using paints and adhesives with low or no volatile organic compounds. Point out these changes to prospective buyers in another list or manual.

17. Use what you have, and arrange each room in a conversational way if possible. Don’t set all furnishings in a family room so they face a TV, since most potential buyers like the idea of an open-room milieu for socializing.

18. Remove and replaced faded draperies, fabrics, and rugs, or leave windows and floors bare to avoid showing lack of attention. Slipcovers, which can cover worn furniture can also provide an affordable decorative feature, changed for each season. Slipcovers can range from $49.99 to $149.99, based on fabric and treatment.

19. Replace old, dated, or worn bedding. Before any showing, fluff up pillows and covers, and make all beds neatly. Affordable choices can be found at stores like Target and Web sites like Overstock.com.

20. Toss out old magazines. You don’t want a People magazine from a year ago; it looks like nobody lives in the house or cares.

21. Check smells regularly. Besides getting rid of bad odors from pets and mildew, introduce nice fresh fragrances, but don’t go heavy on scents from candles. A light lavender or citrus spray is smart and inoffensive. Open windows before showings to bring in fresh air.

22. Make rooms lighter and larger for showings with good lighting. Preferably warm, cool colors rather than fluorescents. Additionally, 60-watt bulbs are a good choice, even though they’re not as energy-efficient.

23. Go with plants rather than flowers indoors since they last longer, but either choice can add vivacity to a room.

24. Pay attention to your bathrooms. Specifically, make sure you have freshly laundered towels, new soap in soap dishes, spotless mirrors, and no mildew in view.

25. Be sure your house is priced competitively with the current market and homes in your area. In most regions, it’s still the No. 1 “fix” to sell quickly. Go a bit under the market price, and you may even bring forth multiple offers that are higher than expected.

Source:
By Barbara Ballinger
August 2012 Realtor® Magazine

Ways That Buyers Can Mess Up a Loan Approval

Now that you have been approved for a mortgage and are just waiting to make it to the closing table, do not throw your loan approval into jeopardy by making one of these common mistakes:

-Making a big purchase: Avoid making major purchases, like buying a new car or furniture, until after you close on the home. Big purchases could change your debt-to-income ratio that the lender used to approve the buyer’s home loan and could throw the approval into jeopardy.

-Opening new credit: Now isn’t the time to open up any new credit cards.

-Missing any payments: Be extra vigilant about paying all your bills on time, even if you're disputing one.

-Cashing out: Avoid any transfers of large sums of money between your bank accounts or making any undocumented deposits — both of which could send up “red flags” to your mrtgage lender.

Source: “How to Keep Your Mortgage Approval Approved,” Realty Times (Jan. 14, 2013)

5 Tips for Buyers Who Use Downpayment Gifts

About a quarter of first-time home buyers use gifts from relatives to fund a down payment for a home purchase, according to data from the National Association of REALTORS®. But lenders are carefully scrutinizing such gifts.
“Basically, the banks want to make sure that you’re not getting a second loan,” Ray Mignone of Ray Mignone & Associates, a financial planning firm, told The New York Times. “If all of a sudden $50,000 pops into your account, they want to make sure it’s not a loan against the property that they’re going to put a mortgage on.”
In a recent article, The New York Times provided some of the following tips in making make these lenders’ checks and balances go smoother for home buyers:

• Have the money come in a check or wire transfer so that it’s traceable. Lenders often become cautious over cash gifts.
• Have the giver provide the lender with a gift letter, which verifies the money is a gift, the specific amount being given, the relationship to the borrower, and that repayment is not required.
• Deposit any gift money into the borrower’s account a few months before applying for a mortgage so the lenders have fewer questions about it, Mignone says.
• Consider federal gift-tax regulations: Individual gifts of more than $13,000 must be reported to the IRS and are subject to tax.
• Be aware that certain types of mortgages may limit how much of a down payment you can receive as a gift. For example, with conventional loans, lenders may require at least 5 percent in the borrower’s own money that is not a gift. However, Federal Housing Administration loans — which are popular among first-time home buyers — do not have any limits on gifts and borrowers can use gifts to cover the entire down payment.

Source: “To Givers of Down Payments,” The New York Times (Dec. 27, 2012)

How to Prevent Freezing Pipes

By: Douglas Trattner

Published: November 8, 2012

By taking preventive measures before cold weather arrives, you can prevent freezing pipes and the costly damage that goes with them.

Where the trouble lies

"Some pipes are more prone to freezing than others because of their location in the home," explains Paul Abrams, spokesman for Roto-Rooter.

Pipes most at risk for freezing include:

• Exposed pipes in unheated areas of the home.

• Pipes located in exterior walls.

• Any plumbing on the exterior of the home.

Preventative measures for outside

A frozen garden hose can cause more damage than a busted hose; it can actually burst an interior pipe. When the water in the hose freezes, it expands, increasing pressure throughout the whole plumbing system. As part of your regular seasonal maintenance, garden hoses should be disconnected, drained, and stored before the first hard freeze.

If you don't have frost-proof spigots, close the interior shut-off valve leading to that faucet, open and drain the spigot, and install a faucet insulator. They cost only a couple bucks and are worth every penny. Don’t forget, outdoor kitchens need winterizing, too, to prevent damage.

Exposed interior plumbing

Exposed pipes in the basement are rarely in danger of freezing because they are in a heated portion of the home. But plumbing pipes in an unheated area, such as an attic, crawl space, and garage, are at risk of freezing.

Often, inexpensive foam pipe insulation is enough for moderately cold climates. For severe climes, opt for wrapping problem pipes with thermostatically controlled heat tape (from $50 to $200, depending on length), which will turn on at certain minimum temps.

Under-insulated walls

If pipes traveling in exterior walls have frozen in the past (tell-tale signs include water damage, mold, and moisture build-up), it’s probably because of inadequate or improperly installed insulation. It might well be worth the couple hundred dollars it costs to open up the wall and beef up the insulation.

"When nothing else works, say for a northern wall in a really cold climate, the last resort is to reroute a pipe," notes Abrams. Depending on how far the pipe needs to be moved — and how much damage is caused in the process — this preventative measure costs anywhere from $700 on up. Of course, putting the room back together is extra.

Heading south for the winter?

For folks leaving their houses for an extended period of time in winter, additional preventative measures must be taken to adequately protect the home from frozen pipes.

• Make sure the furnace is set no lower than 55 degrees.

• Shut off the main water supply and drain the system by opening all faucets and flushing the toilets.

In extreme situations (vacation home in a bitterly cold climate), Abrams recommends having a plumber come to inspect the system, drain the hot water heater, and perhaps replace the water in traps and drains with nontoxic antifreeze.

Source:“Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®."

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