Home Buying and Home Selling Tips » Home Selling Advices

Agent: Faulty Appraisals Hurting Home Sales

varac — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:49:53 +0000

Sales statistics continue to show a rise in consumer confidence. But because the statistics include the sales of distressed properties and buyers’ desire to get a “deal,” they cloud the value of those statistics.

Obviously, if all of the distressed properties were sold, the value of homes would increase, making every seller’s dream come true. That is not going to happen until the job market improves.

Full story is available on Patch

Foreclosed homes may be sold as rentals

varac — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:01:59 +0000

The government is starting to shed foreclosed, single-family homes it owns – by selling them in bulk to investors, who would turn them into rental properties.

But officials are saying only that test sales will occur “in the near-term,” with a focus on the areas hardest hit by foreclosures. They declined to comment beyond a news release.

Full story is available on MarionStar

Las Vegas Real Estate Sales Increase

varac — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:59:27 +0000

Las Vegas-area home sales rose year-over-year for the sixth consecutive month in December as increased activity below $200,000 continued to compensate for a decline in sales in higher price ranges. Home prices remained flat, with the overall median sale price parked at $115,000 for the fourth month in a row, a real estate information service reported.

In December, 4,823 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area (Clark County). That was up 8.1% from November and up 3% from December 2010, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records.

Full story is available on NuWire Investor

Selling Your Home? De-Clutter First

varac — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:57:56 +0000

We all know that a home should be “de-cluttered” before it is put on the market — that less is more. So here are the top 10 de-cluttering tips to consider before you list your home.

Family photos. I don’t always recommend removing photos unless they have taken over the home and are displayed on every available surface. It’s OK to show the family that lives there, but not OK when the photos get more attention than the home. Less is more.

Full story is available on Patch

Home sales: ‘Surviving’ — or much better?

varac — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:41:34 +0000

Local home sales have a long way to go to recover from the national downturn.

But local real estate agents say the market is what you make it.

“2011 was my second best year,” said Annette Caldwell of Re/Max. “It was awesome. I sold a number of houses at really, really good prices.”

Full story is available on thestarpress.com

Time Running Out for Short Sales

varac — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:39:51 +0000

Time may be running out for homeowners hoping to do a short sale on their home and not get hit with a big federal tax bill because they had time running out – short sale to walk away from their mortgage. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act approved by Congress is scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

The program could be extended by Congressional mandate, but many housing analysts feel the act, passed at the height of the financial crisis won’t be extended. The law eliminates any federal taxes on mortgage debt that lenders cancel or forgive up to $2-million, and currently applies to debt forgiven from 2007 through 2012.

Full story is available on Housing Predictor

Many homeowners decide remodeling is wiser than moving

varac — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:21:56 +0000

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

You came through the housing bust and recession far more debt-averse than you were before.
You’ve been reluctant to consider selling your house because you don’t believe you’ll get what it’s really worth.
Buying a new home is out of the question, even with today’s low interest rates, because it’s so difficult to qualify for a mortgage.

Full story is available on Los Angeles Times

Wyckoff sellers adapt to the flipping of the calendar

varac — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:57:31 +0000

Last summer, when Andy Armstrong and Jennifer Beattie put their Wyckoff house on the market, their yard was lush with shrubs and flowers, highlighting one of the home’s strongest features — its swimming pool, along with a handsome deck. When their first buyer was unable to get a mortgage, they relisted the house and learned about some of the many differences in selling a home in winter.

In fact, each season of the year has its advantages and disadvantages for both buyers and sellers, affecting sales strategies and purchase considerations.

Full story is available on NorthJersey

Key Element to Selling a Home

varac — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:45:52 +0000

You’ve heard good real estate agents talk about how to prep your home to get it sold, how the first physical visit by a prospective buyer is actually the “second” showing, if it was marketed correctly on the internet with high quality photos, photos and more photos, how condition of the home is as important as location in today’s market.

So if you’re a seller and you’ve completed this check list, what is the next key element? That would be: making your home as available as possible for showings to buyers.

Full story is available on Patch

Give your home a boost with paint

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:52:42 +0000

Looking for a simple way to update your home? You may want to think about paint.

Consumer group Angie’s List offers these tips:

Popular colors: Earth tones tend to be popular choices for both interior and exterior of the home. However, the exterior tends to be the easiest part to choose a color for because there is less space to cover and fewer outside factors to consider. For the interior, shades of red tend to be the color that homeowners get tired of the most. If you’re weary about red but really want to incorporate it into your home, try a smaller dose of it. Using red for an accent wall or trim instead of as a base color is a more subtle move.

Full story is available on kjrh.com