Selling a home is not easy, but there are many things you can do to improve your home’s chances of being noticed and increase its value in the eyes of prospective buyers. A simple cleanup goes a long way. Make your home look inviting to perspective buyers so that they can imagine themselves living there. Your home should look bright and spacious. Buyers will look at your house from top to bottom, so don’t forget to fix both big and small problems.

Fix up the outside of your home. This will be the first thing that prospective buyers will see. Trim overgrown bushes, pull weeds out of the flowerbeds and mow the lawn. Make sure there is no garbage or junk on your lawn or driveway. Plant new flowers and shrubs in your landscaping. By keeping your landscaping clean, tidy and colorful, your house will have a much nicer look from the outside. First impressions are important when selling a house.

Full story is available on eHow

J.J. MCallister, a Pacific North West  Real Estate Broker  that specializes in representing buyers in short sale transactions went on to say: ” I’ve found short sale transactions to be difficult at best, impossible at worst” .  Many transactions drag on for months only for critical contingency deadlines to expire, effectively killing the deal. In the mean time ? ” My client is put on hold by the bank’s loss mitigation specialist”.

” The public is being mislead”   What’s being touted as an immediate, viable remedy for the homeowner that must move, as well as a screaming financial opportunity for the first time as well as investment property buyer, rarely translates into a ” Closed Sale”. J.J. Went on to say .. ” The banks are willing to agree in most cases to an 18% gross adjustment of mortgage; in a market that hasn’t hit bottom”  Most buyers  are looking for a much deeper discount.

Full story is available on Examiner

If you’re thinking about putting your house on the market, anticipate lots of showings. And if you get an offer, it will be lower than you probably expected.

If you’re serious about selling your house in this buyer’s market expect it to take a lot more showings and most likely a lower offer. Most people are well aware of the fact they probably won’t sell their house for what they had hoped. But is their expectation where it needs to be based on market data? In my personal experience I’m still seeing a lot of unrealistic pricing from unrealistic sellers.

When I list a home my responsibility to that seller is to drive as much traffic through that home as possible to get them an offer. Their responsibility is to make certain the home is show-ready and priced to sell. I can’t make a seller price their home based on my recommendation. I can advise, educate and coach them based on my knowledge and experience but if they’re not ready to hear what I have to say, it’s going to be a longer and harder battle to get that sold sign in the yard.

Full story is available on St. Louis Globe Democrat

As sad as it is foreclosure has become very common as homeowners are watching their house values sink at the same time as their interest rates and payments skyrocket.

What is the best thing for a homeowner that needs to sell their house fast to do? Walk away from the house for sale all together?

It’s discouraging…mortgage payments increasing as home prices plummet. Homeowners regularly say “I can’t afford to keep paying the higher payments and I need to sell my house for a high enough price to cover the remaining mortgage”. So, they are abandoning their homes for sale along with their mortgages. Rather than trying to keep up with rising payments on deteriorating assets they are handing the keys back and accepting the disastrous effects on their credit reports.

Full story is available in bignews.biz

Sales of single-family homes and condominiums in Maui County soared in February, though prices were significantly lower than a year ago, according to the Realtors Association of Maui Inc.

There were a total of 53 single-family homes sold last month — 56 percent more than a year ago — though the median home price fell 7 percent, or $37,800, to $507,200.

Condo sales rose by 12 percent year over year to 94 — a 12-month high. However, the median unit price dropped by 38 percent, or $263,500, to $429,000, due mostly to high-end condo sales at the luxury Honua Kai complex in February 2009.

Full story is available on Pacific Business News

Although a large-scale addition to your home may seem like an impressive and foolproof way to add value and attract a good price from buyers, smaller additions and improvements are usually a better choice. Homeowners need to weigh their decisions carefully. An addition pricing a home above the neighborhood’s average can hurt the seller’s profit, and smaller improvements increasing curb appeal can boost value quickly and easily.

Step 1: Consider the average amount of money recouped from home additions when choosing your own project. According to Remodeling Magazine’s annual report on cost versus value of various mid-range remodeling projects, a new steel entry door tops the list of money recouped with 128.9 percent. Rounding out the top five are: adding an attic bedroom, adding a deck, replacing vinyl siding and doing a minor kitchen remodel.

Full story is available on eHow

Q:Dear Real Estate Adviser,

I’m thinking of buying a short-sale home. If the delinquent owner had any mechanic’s liens, am I now responsible for them? If I make a short-sale purchase, isn’t the title usually “free and clear”?
– Clark

A:Dear Clark,
Unless you’ve already bought the house, you aren’t yet responsible for a mechanic’s lien, which is a legal claim placed on a home to settle unpaid or partially paid contractor work. The owner is still responsible for the debt and any other such obligations that can become real deal breakers in a short sale if the financially strapped seller can’t satisfy them or the lender is unwilling to intervene.

Full story is available on Bank Rate

After Coletta Makiling lost her job last year, it was clear that she and her husband needed to also shed their monthly mortgage payment. Their lender agreed to allow a short sale of their Ventura condominium.

On New Year’s Eve, the condo sold for $219,000, and the Makilings were freed from a mortgage on which they still owed $352,000.

But when the Makilings, who now live in Oak View, sat down to prepare their income taxes earlier this month, they were confronted with a new financial crisis.

Full story is available on VCStar

The National Association of Realtors® announced Friday that existing home sales dropped a hefty 7% in January, adding further evidence that the resurgence of the housing sector is stalling. Wednesday, we saw a very soft new home sales number. Now, we see more softness in existing home sales as well.

Their press release stated:

Existing-home sales fell in January but are above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – dropped 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.05 million units in January from a revised 5.44 million in December, but remain 11.5 percent above the 4.53 million-unit level in January 2009.

Full story is available on Seeking Alpha

As competitive as the market is, if you’re thinking of listing your home you better make sure it has great appeal.

In a buyer’s market, inventory levels are higher and competition is stiffer because fewer buyers are competing for an abundance of inventory. So, if you’re thinking of listing your home, what can you do to create the buyer fervor and interest in your property over others in your area?

First, you have to get them in the door. If the outside doesn’t pop you’ll never get them inside. Drive by some of your competition and compare the outside of their homes to the outside of your home. How do you stack up?

Full story is available on Globe Democrat