5 Inexpensive Home Updates to Complete before Listing Your Home

5 Inexpensive Home Updates to Complete before Listing Your Home

August 2011—There is no perfect formula for selling your home efficiently, but by following these five tips prior to listing you can increase your chances to close quickly at a higher price.

1.) Update your old garage door(s). Garage doors seem like a non-issue, but many times they make up a significant percentage of the front of a home. Because of this, they are one of the first things that buyers notice when they pull in the drive way. Replacing, or even just painting, these central fixtures will do wonders when it comes to instantly impressing perspective buyers and standing apart from your competition. The market has changed drastically since many of us purchased our homes here in town. I frequently hear buyers say that they have taken a house off their list because of the lack of curb appeal. This issue is especially important to people on busier streets, corner lots, or near a neighborhood eyesore.

2.) Replace old windows. Outdated windows age a home significantly, and you can often upgrade standard windows to vinyl for a reasonable $300 per window. The average home has 8 windows, so this upgrade doesn’t cost nearly as much as you might think and it will make a huge difference to the value perceived by prospective buyers. Key point to remember is that when buyers view a home they love, if they see it has older windows, they consider it a time consuming and costly headache. First time buyers have never replaced windows and often dramatically overestimate the cost to cure this issue. By replacing pre-listing you an actually save money. A well priced, move-in condition home will sell for far more than one with windows in need of repair.

3.) Assess your floors. If you have hardwood flooring, it’s worth the investment to have them refinished considering buyers put an extremely high value on them; you’ll get the most bang for your buck if they are refurbished. Carpets should be shampooed and replaced if they are stained or look worn. You don’t need to spend large amounts of money on the highest grade or most modern name but something inexpensive and neutral will certainly bring you a return on the investment. Even the smell of new carpet will make buyers set your home apart from the comparables.

4.) Paint the trim. If you can’t afford the daunting task of painting your entire house, painting just the trim will still make a big difference when it comes to curb appeal. Painting the whole house can be expensive, time consuming, and delayed by weather conditions; painting just the trim will give your home a fresher look. Interior trim is equally as important.

5.) Update fixtures. Keep an eye out for sales at home improvement stores and replace outdated lighting, plumbing and hardware fixtures. Simple replacing lighting fixtures and knobs in the bathroom or kitchen can update the entire look of the room. You can find many modern brand name fixtures online on contractor supply websites by just searching for terms like sale faucets, sale plumbing fixtures etc.

 

Related articles

• 40 Home Improvements in 11.5 Years (retirefly.com)

Make Your House FHA-Loan Friendly

Make Your House FHA-Loan Friendly

Know the basics of FHA loan rules and you stand a better chance of selling your house or condo.

Most buyers will expect a home inspection, including a form outlining what the inspection revealed.

Make your house FHA-friendly, and it will appeal to more homebuyers. Why? Because the Federal Housing Administration is insuring the mortgage loans used by about 30% of today’s homebuyers.

If your house passes the FHA rules, it will appeal to buyers who plan to use an FHA-insured mortgage. If your house doesn’t qualify for an FHA loan, you’re cutting out 30% of potential buyers.

FHA is especially important to first-time homebuyers and those with small down payments because it allows borrowers with good credit to make a down payment as low as 3.5% of the purchase price.

Here’s how to make your home appealing to FHA borrowers:

Know the FHA loan limits in your area

Start by checking to see if your home’s listed price falls within FHA lending limits for your area. FHA mortgage limits vary a lot. In San Francisco, FHA will insure a mortgage of up to $729,750 on a single-family home. In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the loan limit is $271,050.

Home inspections

Most buyers will ask for a home inspection, whether or not they’re using an FHA loan to buy the home. You must give FHA buyers a form explaining what home inspections can reveal, and how inspections differ from appraisals.

How much do you have to repair?

If the home inspection reveals problems, FHA will not give the okay to buy the home until you repair serious defects like roof leaks, mold, structural damage, and pre-1978 interior or exterior paint that could contain lead.

Dealing with FHA appraisers

Help the lender’s appraiser by providing easy access to attics and crawl spaces, which usually must be photographed.

Your buyer can hire his own appraiser to evaluate your home. But FHA only relies on reports by its approved appraisers. If the two appraisals conflict, the FHA appraisal preempts the buyer’s appraisal.

Help with FHA closing costs

Most FHA buyers need help with closing costs, says mortgage banker Susan Herman of First Equity Mortgage Bankers in Miami. So a prime way to make your house FHA-friendly is to help with those costs.

FHA currently allows sellers to pay up to 6% of the sales price to help cover closing costs, but is considering lowering that limit to 3% in the fall of 2010. 

If you’re selling a condo

FHA also has to approve your condo before a buyer uses an FHA loan to purchase your unit. Be sure your condo is FHA-approved for mortgages. The list has been updated, so if your association was approved a year ago, check again to make sure it’s still on the approved list.

FHA generally won’t insure loans in condo associations if more than 15% percent of the unit owners are late on association fees. Ask your property manager or board of directors for your association’s delinquency rate.

Other rules cover insurances, cash reserves and how many units are owner-occupied and the types of condos that can be purchased with an FHA mortgage.

FHA sometimes issues waivers for healthy condominiums that don’t meet the regular rules. If your condo isn’t FHA-approved, it doesn’t necessarily have to meet every single rule to gain approval. Ask your REALTOR® to consult with local lenders about getting an FHA waiver for your condo if it doesn’t meet all the requirements.

FHA also limits its mortgage exposure in homeowners associations. With some limited exceptions, no more than 50% of the units in an association can be FHA-insured.

 

Related articles

• FHA Home Loans (blogcritics.org)
• The Seven Things All Borrowers Should Know About FHA Loans (prweb.com)

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Town of Paradise First-Time Homebuyers Program for Paradise, CA

Town of Paradise First-Time Homebuyers Program for Paradise, CA

Tammy Vertrees, Paradise California Realtor®

The Town of Paradise offers a deferred, low-interest loan to eligible first-time homebuyers based on Federal 2011 Income Limits as down payment assistance to purchase a Paradise, CA home. A first-time homebuyer is someone who has not owned a home in the past three years. The loan is a “bridge” or “gap” loan meaning that the loan amount is based on the difference between what the borrower can afford and the amount of money needed to purchase the Paradise CA home. The loan is secured by a note and a deed of trust and does not require monthly payments. The loan is due when the Paradise CA home is sold; the homeowner stops using it as their principal residence; or the title is transferred out of the name of the original borrower.

The first step of the process is to select a lender from the list of approved Certified Lenders. The lender will pre-qualify you for a loan and determine the amount you can afford on a house. The second step is to select a Paradise CA realtor from the Certified Realtors list to help you select a Paradise home. The Town of Paradise offers free First Time Homebuyer Workshops through the Community Housing and Credit Counseling program.

Please contact me to see if this program will work for you!  530-413-8383

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Time to Start Work on Your Paradise Fall Garden

Time to Start Work on Your Paradise, CA Fall Garden

Mid- to late-summer is the ideal time to start a fall garden, or a “second season” crop of your favorite cool-season vegetables and flowers.

What to grow. Even where winters are cold and the ground freezes hard, many vegetables can still be grown to maturity before first frost. For edibles, try beets, cilantro, lettuce, radish, spinach, kale, peas, salad greens, Swiss chard, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, onions, leeks, parsley and arugula. When choosing varieties, select ones that are fast-maturing to insure a harvest before cold weather hits.

Seeds of annual flowers that thrive in cool weather can also be sown now for fall and spring bloom, including alyssum, candytuft, calendula, stock and sweet peas.

When to start. The key to growing vegetables for fall harvest is timing. Vegetables grown in this season need about 14 extra days to mature compared with spring-seeded crops due to fall’s shorter days, cooling soil, and less intense sunshine. When deciding the date to start your veggies, first determine your average first frost date. Then look at the seed packet for days to maturity. Add 14 days to that number, then use that figure to calculate back to seed-starting date.

Growing on. Sowing seeds or setting out transplants in mid-summer can be more stressful to young plants than seeding during cooler, often wetter spring weather. Keep the soil moist as seeds are germinating.

Protect young seedlings with shade cloth or plant them near taller plants, such as corn or tomatoes to provide shade from the hot afternoon sun. Another option is to start seeds in containers in a spot with bright light and then transplant young seedlings into the garden. This works well for crops like lettuce and spinach, whose seeds don’t germinate as well when soil temperatures are high.

Fall harvest. With a little effort in late summer, you’ll eat well in fall because crops such as kale, lettuce, spinach, and broccoli thrive in the lower temperatures.

Related articles:

• Green Thumb Guide: What to Plant in August (Indoors or Out)
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Real Estate for Today’s Magalia and Paradise California Home Sellers and Home Buyers

Home Buyers | Home Sellers

For information on Paradise, Magalia, Chico, California and surrounding areas, contact me directly at 530-413-8383.

Real Estate Consultant
Coldwell Banker Ponderosa Real Estate
530-413-8383
www.TammyVertrees.com

gardening, garden, fall garden

Don't Let Termites Eat Away the Sale Of Your Home

Real Estate for Today’s Magalia and Paradise California Home Sellers and Home Buyers

 

Don't Let Termites Eat Away the Sale Of Your Home

You're selling your home and it comes time to get that dreaded termite inspection. It's the Wood Destroying Organism (WDO) inspection that homeowners fear can eat away at the price of a home or ruin the entire deal--but it doesn't have to.

There are a few signs that may indicate there might be an infestation. Some states are more likely to have heavy termite activity such as those in a "hot zone" such as California, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Hawaii. While these areas have the highest level of activity, termites can be found nearly anywhere and the varieties of the insects differ depending on the area and climate.

According to TermiteInstitute.com, "When conditions like cracks in the foundation or plumbing leaks are present; the possibility of a hidden wood-destroying infestation exists. Buyers should pay particular attention to these potentially hazardous conditions outlined in the WDO inspection report."

Many homeowners don't think about the possibility of having termites until they're getting ready to sell their home. Unfortu

nately, a history of termite issues can eat away at the sales price. Being prepared and understanding what to expect from an inspection is not only helpful but could help ensure a better price and smoother home sale.

TermiteInstitute.com has a lot of information that helps clarify the type of termites found in various locations. The site also helps inform and educate people about termite warning signs, treatment, and even the biology and life cycle of these pests. I found the site's top questions and answers about termites to be very interesting. Here's what you should know about termites.

If my neighbor's home is infested; will mine be attacked next? TermiteInstitute.com says not necessarily. However, the risk is, of course, high. Preventive treatment is recommended.

How are homes treated for termites? The methods vary depending on the severity and the professional company that you choose but here's a look at some modern treatments.

Termite bait systems can be set up, however, this requires termites to find the bait stations, eat the poisonous feed, and then transfer it to the colony. It can take up to a year to be fully effective.

The site says that liquid termite treatment is known as the new "undetectable" or "non-repellent" technology. "It works well with subterranean termites, which comprise about

90 percent of the infestations in American households." This method is done by a professional applying the undetectable liquid to the soil and around the home as well as critical points in the structure where termites are likely to invade.

Since termites can't detect the liquid material, they pass through the treated soil causing termite mortality. "However, before termites die, they can have an opportunity to return to the colony and transfer the material to others in the nest," according to TermiteInstitute.com

Will my homeowners' insurance pay for treatment? It's not likely. Although, in some areas of Louisiana some insurance companies have covered termite treatments for those structures that suffered hurricane damage.

While termites are annoying and can certainly eat away at your sale price, if you don't take care of the infestation and damage, they're not harmful to humans. In other words they feed on wood, not people. But they can severely damage a home so it's best to know right away whether you have an infestation and what your options are to resolve the problem. It could save you money and frustration when it comes time to close the sale on your house.

 

Related articles:

• Useful Tips for Getting Rid of Unwanted Pests Around Your Home - Get Rid of the Critters
• Termite Swarm Season Provides Homeowners with Chance to Catch Damaging Pests in the Act
• Find And Kill Termites With Termidor Termite Treatment
• Termite Control Information For Everyone

What to Buy, What to Skip at Summer Closeout Sales

Real Estate for Today’s Magalia and Paradise California Home Sellers and Home Buyers

What to Buy, What to Skip at Summer Closeout Sales

By Ely Portillo

July 21, 2011—(MCT)—With summer sales kicking into high gear, it can be tempting to throw caution to the wind and embark on some pre-Christmas splurging.

We’ve rolled past the Father’s Day and Fourth of July deals and into the back-to-school zone. But some experts are cautioning shoppers to hold back on some items and wait for what are typically steeper discounts times later in the year.

“August might be better for deeper discounts” on many items, says Lindsay Sakraida, features director of Dealnews.com. And electronics are typically cheaper near the end of the year. The site tracks about 2,000 retailers daily and alerts members who has the best sales for the day.

But depending on what you’re looking for and how badly you need it right now, Sakraida says this could be a good month for many purchases. Apparel, shoes, some sports equipment and some airfares are usually discounted well in July, she says.

Laptops and high-definition TVs, while often on sale now, are usually more heavily discounted during the holiday shopping season. And examine your back-to-school and Christmas-in-July sales closely, she says—sometimes, those labels are more marketing tactics than serious discounts.

By looking at past sales data, Dealnews.com has assembled a list of what are likely to be some of the best and worst products to buy this July.

Have a blast buying:
• Anything you can get on clearance. Retailers are getting rid of the last of their previous season’s inventories. Sakraida says many items, especially kids’ jeans and other apparel, are probably going to be on sale.

“If you need to buy clothes for your kids, July could be a good month for that,” Sakraida says.

The deals might not last for long, however. Ken Perkins, an analyst with Retail Metrics, said recently that many retailers are finishing their clearance sales and will likely pull back from deep discounting soon.

• Airfare: Some companies have already posted deep discounts, such as a $29 sale from JetBlue recently. Expect to see more such deals popping up, Sakraida says. To take full advantage of them, however, you might have to fly on less-popular days such as Tuesday or Wednesday.

• Sports equipment. Sakraida says July is typically a good month for golf equipment discounts. Look for clubs on sale and local deal packages, she said. Also, last July was noted as an especially good time to find baseball caps on sale at Kohl’s and Lids, so keep your eyes open if you’re searching for your favorite team’s cap.

Think twice before spending big on:
• Laptop computers. Although many models will be advertised as on sale, Sakraida says the biggest discounts typically come later in the year.

“You’re going to still get a better deal around Black Friday or leading up to Christmas,” she said. If you can wait a few more months, you’ll probably save with the electronics sales later in the year.

One exception is computers built around AMD’s A350 processor. Those have been steadily dropping in price, so if you can’t wait, search for deals on those computers.

“If you really need a laptop now, go for that,” Sakraida says.

• HDTVs. Much like laptops, those are likely to be much more heavily discounted closer to the end of the year. Real bargains probably won’t start until November.

One exception, Sakraida says, is the 55-inch model, which usually offers consumers the best value for mega-sets. This July, Dealnews.com has seen the sets bottom out at just over $1,000, so if you find one for that price, you’re probably getting a good deal.

Sales labeled “Black Friday,” “Christmas in July,” or “Back to school.”

The number of such sales increased last year, Sakraida says. But are the discounts really on par with Black Friday or Christmas?

“A lot of times, it is just sort of a name,” says Sakraida. “You should be wary of equating it with the really big, big discounts you see around Black Friday. They don’t necessarily translate.”

So even though the name might be catchy, Sakraida says, don’t expect to see the 50 percent to 75 percent off deals that often accompany frenzied shopping the day after Thanksgiving.

And though many retailers are starting back-to-school sales earlier than ever (according to media reports, Target, Wal-Mart, Staples and Office Depot are all starting their pre-school pushes), Sakraida is still cautioning consumers to wait to stock up on items such as backpacks, notebooks and binders.

“Generally, the items you want to buy for a kid going back to school, you can probably get better deals if you waited till August,” she says.

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