January 7th, 2008 categories: Finances, Home Ownership, Home Selling, Investments, Real Estate
If your New Year’s resolution is to sell a home in 2008, it’s probably time to start thinking about how to make that home stand out from the rest.
But before planning any projects, beware: Homeowners aren’t recouping as many improvement costs as they could in recent years, according to a recent study by Remodeling magazine. In fact, real-estate agents advise clients not to overdo it, regardless of what the local market conditions are like.
To keep costs down and spend remodeling dollars wisely, RealEstateJournal.com urges us to consider the following five tips:
1. Ask for advice. Before making any remodeling plans, clear your home of clutter and rent a storage unit, if necessary, to hold extra stuff while the home is on the market. Then, get some advice from a local real-estate agent on how the home stacks up against the competition.
2. Dig deeper. It also could pay to look below the surface by getting a home inspection before listing the property. That way, problems that could hold up a sale are addressed in advance.
3. Look outside. Pay attention to exterior details like the condition of siding and windows.
According to Remodeling magazine’s 2007 Cost Vs. Value Report, a wooden-window replacement recovers on average 81.2% of its cost at resale, and siding replacement recovers on average 83.2% of its cost. The payoff for those projects is much better than for an upgrade that a buyer might not need. A home-office remodeling, for example, recovers 57% of its cost on average. The estimates are national averages for midrange homes, not upscale ones.
4. Spend time in the bathroom. Freshening up the bathroom doesn’t have to be expensive, but it could be important.
It’s most important for the bathroom to be clean, but sellers should also consider replacing the fixtures, tub, sink and toilet - if they need it. Replace cracked tiles and curled linoleum. The replacements don’t have to be expensive. A toilet can cost less than $250, and taller, handicap replacement toilets to appeal to an aging population.
5. Keep it small in the kitchen. The other room that often sells a house is the kitchen, but it might be best to keep renovations modest. Remodeling magazine’s report found that homeowners could recover 83% of the cost of a minor kitchen remodel at resale, compared with 78.1% of a major kitchen remodel. Full Story
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January 7th, 2008 categories: Finances, Home Buying, Home Ownership, Home Selling, Investments, Mortgages, Real Estate
Steve McLinden of Bankrate.com agrees that home values will “stabilize again,” but it will be a rocky ride until they do — especially for home sellers, he says. He advises that they stay put and “ride this out,” he suggests. For sellers whose circumstances demand that they sell in today’s soft market, he offers several tips, including:
For buyers, he recommends not waiting to pounce on good deals, as the housing market may be “at or near bottom,” and using the glut of homes on the market and sellers’ anxiousness to sell to bargain more effectively. Make your purchase contract contingent on the home passing inspection, obtaining buyer financing, etc., he says. Do your research on the local market, noting asking and selling prices, and don’t overlook “diamonds in the rough” — residences that aren’t cosmetically attractive, but have good bones, he says. He also suggests factoring in a house’s potential resale value before making a purchase. Story
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December 31st, 2007 categories: Finances, For Fun, Home Buying, Home Ownership, Home Selling, Investments, Mortgages, Moving, Real Estate
Here’s a list of our favorite real estate-related websites and services (in no particular order) that we came across in 2007:
And here’s looking forward to a great 2008!!! 
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December 28th, 2007 categories: Finances, Home Buying, Home Ownership, Home Selling, Investments, Mortgages, Real Estate
Experts thought 2007 would bring a real estate recovery - not the worst collapse on record. So before you put much hope in forecasts for a 2008 rebound in the battered housing market, consider this: A year ago at this time many top economists were looking for that recovery to begin in 2007. CNN’s Money Magazine takes a look at what that says about forecasts of a turnaround next year. Full Story
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