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Home Selling Process – Selling a Home With Pets

August 26th, 2011

Selling a Home With Pets

Selling a Home With Pets

According to the American Pet Products Association, 62 percent of all U.S. households own at least one pet. That equates to nearly two out of every three homes with a resident animal. Dogs outnumber cats as the favorite pet but there are still more than 15 million households keeping birds, reptiles, fish or other small creatures. It is very important to address the issue of pets in the home when it comes time to put your home up for sale and the home selling process.

At the top of the list is one that buyers complain the loudest about – namely the smells of Fido and Fluffy that permeate the house. If you have a pet, you probably no longer notice an odor in the home, but the smells are really there. They come from, among other things, the bed your dog or cat sleeps on, the cat’s litter box, the little wood shavings a hamster kicks out of its cage or the fish tank that should have been cleaned a week ago. Ask a friend who doesn’t own a pet to come over and honestly tell you if there are pet odors in the house.

Don’t be offended if the answer is yes. That knowledge confirms that you need to neutralize any smells that might influence a prospective buyer. Always remember to make your home smell good; is a vital in the home selling process. Visit a local pet store to pick up some specialized cleaning products to tackle those problem areas. If need be, hire a professional. And, of course, a good daily cleaning regimen consisting of vacuuming, sweeping, and litter box policing is required when putting a home with pets up for sale.

Next, consider what to do with your dog or cat when your house is being shown to prospective buyers. A dog should not be left in the house when buyers are visiting. Putting the pet in a crate is not a good alternative. You may rationalize that your work schedule doesn’t allow you to take your dog for a walk, but when selling a home with pets, it’s also your job to make your home as inviting and appealing as possible. Enlist the goodwill of a friend or neighbor to pet-sit in their own home or, if necessary, hire someone to pet-sit during a showing. In addition to removing pets from the home when it is being shown, it’s equally important to put away the pet’s food and water dishes, cat scratching posts, toys and playthings, pet beds and litter boxes.

There are real and legitimate reasons for keeping the house as clean as possible during the days it is on the market, as well as not leaving an animal at home when a potential buyer is coming to visit. Some people with allergies may have a severe reaction within minutes of coming into a house with a pet. Others have an honest fear of dogs, and in some cases, cats too. You may even be required by state law to disclose to prospective buyers that pets are living or have lived in your home. As a pet owner, maybe you don’t see the negative implications, but they are real and can increase the amount of time it takes to sell, as well as decrease the amount a buyer may be willing to pay.

More than 97 percent of all buyers today will research homes online, and an average number of homes that a buyer looks at before deciding on the one purchase is in the “teens.” So every prospective buyer that tours your home, whether they decide to buy or not, is precious to you because you don’t know in advance which one will fall in love with the home. During the weeks or even months that it takes to find a buyer, you have to do everything possible to make your home as appealing to every visitor as possible. Minimizing the impact of having a pet in the house is one of the most important responsibilities of the owner in the home selling process.

Realistically, probably few pet owners reading this article will follow these recommendations. But at least you know what you should do. And your real estate agent should be soliciting feedback from showings and giving you the buyer’s or showing agent’s comments. If the subject of pets or pet odors comes up then you know there is a problem and you will have to correct it or accept the consequences. Having been the owner of horses and being around them a good part of my life, the old saying that ”you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink” is very true.

Selling your home can be a daunting task. Having the right real estate agent in your corner can help alleviate the frustration in the home selling process. For help in finding a real estate agent, visit RealEstateAgentFinder.com for our free service of helping you find the perfect realtor that fits your needs.

Tags: home selling process, Selling a Home With Pets
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Real Estate Farming – Consider Selling Your Home With An Agent Who Farms Your Neighborhood

August 19th, 2011

One of the methods experienced real estate agents use to obtain listings is to create what is known in the industry as a “farm” area. A real estate farm typically consists of at least 200 homes, the minimum number required for mailing at discounted, bulk-mailing rates. Any given farm may reach as many as 500 or more homeowners, depending on geography and the neighborhood. Real estate farms tend to be in homogeneous neighborhoods, where the homes are similar in valuation, age and style. Large condominium projects and golfing communities also tend to make excellent farm areas.

One prime example of a typical farm area would be in Levittown, N.Y. This community was built on Long Island right after World War II to satisfy a demand for affordable housing. The planned community, built between 1947 and 1951, totaled more than 6,000 homes, and at its peak, a production rate of 30 houses per day were being built. These nearly identical homes have, over the years, been added to, customized and modernized, so today they look quite different; yet each home has notable common characteristics.

An agent farming in Levittown, or any other densely populated area, normally would not cover the entire community, choosing instead to focus on a group of interconnecting streets. A Realtor® who farms an area will specialize in that chosen area, and may very well live in that part of town as well. By virtue of that focus, such an agent tends to become an “expert” in the neighborhood. That agent will know of every home for sale and will know which homes recent sold and for how much, and the condition and updates each one had.

The farming agent will also extensive knowledge about the community, such as schools, churches, parks and recreation facilities, town government, commuting routes and shopping opportunities. Such knowledge can be an invaluable asset to the agent’s buying and selling clientele.

An effective farming agent will also usually have inside knowledge as to what homes may be coming up for sale in the near future. Agents become acquainted with potential sellers in their farm area during an open house or when they are asked to provide a home valuation for someone who is considering selling.

Who are the agents farming where you live? Just look in your mailbox. The most common method of farming a neighborhood is for an agent to mail out Just Listed, or Just Sold cards, monthly or quarterly newsletters, calendars and sports schedules. The main purpose of these mailings is for the farming agent to create a brand for their business. These agents are building name recognition, and when their name-rider goes up on the For Sale sign on the front lawns in your neighborhood, they are reinforcing their brand.

It takes a long time for an agent to build a reputation of being the neighborhood real estate expert. But, as good as some are, no single agent “owns the market.” There are always other agents who work in the neighborhood and are successful too — and providing great service for their clients.

Many potential sellers do not want to let a real estate agent know their home is going to be coming up for sale because they do not want to be getting the inevitable phone calls and pestering visits that many agents are known to do. Another way to find the best real agent to sell your home is to use the anonymous service of RealEstateAgentFinder.com. The agent or agents who are farming your area, as well as the newer ones who are also successful and knowledgeable of your neighborhood, will be identified for you. Sellers then have the benefit of having a short list of the best and most qualified agents to choose from when it comes time to sell their home.

Tags: Real Estate Farming
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Sell Own House – It’s August and a Critical Time of the Year for Making Selling Decisions is Just around the Corner

August 12th, 2011

As the end of August is fast-approaching, sellers of real estate are facing an important decision-making time of year. Many in the real estate industry consider the months of September, October and November to be the second most active time of the year for selling real estate. For a 90-day listing to close before Thanksgiving, a seller needs to sign the listing contract no later than the end of August.

Many sellers did not have the opportunity to put their home on the market in March or April in time for the spring market. They then decided to wait out the summer due to its traditionally being the slowest time of the year. Now they need to be making the decision as to which agent—among dozens and even hundreds in some markets—to consider hiring.

And then there are those sellers who did put their homes up for sale five or six months ago, but have not been able to find a buyer . With listing agreements soon to expire, they also face an important decision from among four courses of action.

Option 1: Stay the Course and Extend the Listing

You have been trying to sell your home in one of the toughest real estate markets ever. Now is the time to evaluate your agent’s performance. As long as you are happy with the level of service, advice and timely feedback your agent provides, then changing listing agents may not be the most prudent course of action. Do, however, ask your agent to work up a new CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) and discuss with you the marketing plan for the next three months.

Option 2: Try the “For Sale by Owner” Route

Very few owners have skills and knowledge—or the time, temperament and patience—required to sell their home. Isn’t that why you hired a professional in the first place? If the broker you originally listed with hasn’t been successful, then maybe you should be interviewing another professional in your area that is getting the job done.

Option 3: Take the House off the Market

If you fall into this category, then you need to determine if you truly are a motivated seller. If time is not a factor, and you will only sell if the asking price is met, then maybe the price is the reason your home is still on the market. Buyers will not pay “what you need” or “what you want” in order to move. Buyers will only purchase your house when it provides the best value as compared with other available properties.

Option 4: Pick a New Real Estate Agent to Sell Your House

This last choice assumes you have considered extending the listing agreement with your current broker but have decided to move in another direction. This decision should be based on solid reasoning and not making a change simply for the sake of change. Perhaps the marketing plan your agent presented months ago was either not implemented or was not comprehensive enough. Simply having a sign on the front lawn, an entry in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and a few ads is not likely to expose your home to as many qualified buyers as possible. Agents who are at the top of their profession provide a wide range of other services and marketing tools, often paying for these out of their own pocket. If your new agent is willing to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars in up-front expenses to market your property, then that real estate agent is motivated and will be more than willing to explain their plan to sell your home in great detail.

The Decision Time is Close at Hand

If you have had your home on the market and your listing contract is soon to expire, then you will fall into one of the four categories noted above and you need to decide on a course of action soon. If you plan to capitalize on the fact that we are entering the second best time of the year to sell real estate, you need to be interviewing local real estate agents who can handle the sale of your home or condo. RealEstateAgentFinder.com is a free service to help homeowners find the best real estate agent to sell a home.

Tags: sell own house
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Open House Ideas – The Importance of an Open House in the Home Selling Process – Part 2

August 5th, 2011

This is the second article in a two-part blog series on open houses. The prior post touched on the reasons and frequency of holding public open houses. This post discusses the importance of a type of open house that many sellers are not aware of, a broker’s open house.

The broker’s open house is one in which real estate agents are invited to preview brand new listings. These may be new listings of agents within the same office, but usually it’s not limited to just one office. Often, these events are open to all of the offices and brokers that are active in the community. One of the common traits of the most successful real estate agents is that they “know their inventory.” In other words, good agents are aware of, and in most cases, have actually visited those houses for sale in the towns where they work or have clients who are searching for a home. The agents have already seen, first-hand, what is for sale and do not need to rely on browsing through the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) property listings and photo galleries to describe, in detail, a particular home to a client or customer.

It’s usually customary that the broker’s open house tour to be set for a specific day and time period each week, such as every Tuesday from noon until 2p.m. The listing agent keeps the home open for that two-hour period so that interested agents can come in to see the new listings that have been added in the past few days. Other market areas hold what is referred to as a “Caravan Tour,” where the listing agent is at their seller’s home for a 15-20 minute period, and those going on tour progress from house-to-house in a specific, prearranged order. Either form of tour accomplishes the same beneficial purpose for sellers and Realtors® alike.

In many communities, the listing broker, as an inducement to bring the local agents in, will provide snacks, such as fruit or cookies or as much as pizza or sandwiches, at their broker’s open house. In some cases, especially for very high-end properties, the whole affair may be quite lavish and professionally catered. Sometimes, instead of offering food as an incentive for agents to visit, there will be a business-card drawing for a gift certificate to a local store or restaurant. Some brokers will give out lottery scratch tickets.

In large communities where it may be impossible to view every new listing on the tour, agents will narrow the choices to what they specialize in, based on neighborhood, price or type of home. In other cases, when working with a buyer who is looking for something specific, the agent may widen the search of broker open houses to other towns where a buyer may be considering, even if it’s out of the agent’s primary marketing area.

It is not at all unusual to attend a broker’s open house and see agents using their cell phones, taking photos for their clients, or describing the new listing to a customer and then arranging a time for them to come out for a showing. If an agent is in the early stages of working with a seller, visiting what will become a “comparable property” is a vital function to be performed in order to discuss competing properties’ prices and amenities. The broker’s open house is also a great opportunity for agents to get together to informally “talk shop” and to build relationships with their colleagues. When one sees the same agents out on tour each week, they quickly learn who the real professionals are.

When prospective sellers ask themselves, “How do I find the best real estate agent to sell my home?”, they should keep in their file of agent interview questions this one – How do you handle broker open houses? If the response is, “I hold one when my seller’s want me to.” you should show that agent the door—and quickly. If the agent responds that “holding a broker’s open house is vital to having it exposed to as many prospective buyers as possible,” you probably have met a good one. If the agent goes on to say, “Attending broker open houses is a way to stay up-to-date with the current inventory,” then you probably have found a great real estate agent.

RealEstateAgentFinder.com is an easy way for prospective home seller’s to view the resumes and marketing plans of the top-producing and most successful real estate agents. You will also find a multitude of other useful and important blog posts to help you answer that all important question: How do I find the best real estate agent to sell my house?

Tags: home selling process, Open House Ideas
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Open House Ideas – The Importance of an Open House in the Home Selling Process – Part 1

July 27th, 2011

In my own experience as a successful Realtor®, I believe that holding a public open house is one of the most important activities a listing agent performs for the seller. Here is a true story that proves this point.

Years ago, I listed my mother’s home for $1,249,000 in an affluent community of single-family homes. I held an open house, supported by newspaper and Internet advertising on the first Sunday of the listing going into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Only one prospective buyer came; not because he saw it listed or advertised, but because he was visiting friends in town and saw the sign placed at the end of the cul-de-sac to direct visitors to the open house. After briefly going through the home, he said he’d be back in a few minutes with his wife. To make a long story short, she loved it and they bought the house. I only had to hold one open house and never had to make a price reduction. These buyers were not actively in the market, or even thinking about purchasing a new home. They just liked the town, saw the sign and curiosity brought them in. It just goes to show that hosting a public open house can be the one activity that get’s your house sold.

However, most experienced real estate agents will acknowledge that holding an open house for the public does not usually bring in the eventual buyer or result in a sale. Even so, there are four reasons why real estate agents should conduct public open houses.

1). The first open house creates a deadline for the seller to get their house in order. Most owners are proud of their homes and want it to be in tip-top condition when prospective buyers start visiting.

2). Just before, and in preparation for that first open house, when the home looks as good as it’s going to be, that is the best time for the real estate agent to have photography for the MLS listing taken, feature sheets and collateral materials produced, and videos for virtual tours completed.

3). If an offer to purchase should come in a few days before the first open house, or as a result of holding one, that buyer is fearful others may be wanting it, too. The first buyers for a new listing will make better offers if they believe there is competition, and that’s just what the open house does—it creates an atmosphere of interest and the fear of competition.

4). Another reason why real estate agents like to host open houses is mostly a pragmatic one. It’s an event where an agent can meet with and talk to prospective buyers. If the open house is not the right one for that visitor, maybe the agent knows about another, more suitable property, and it provides an opportunity to meet new customers.

The first open house is the most important one for sellers. It makes little sense (except for reason No. 4 listed above) for agents to continually conduct open houses. Another important time to conduct an open house is in conjunction with a major price reduction, so as to expose the property and its lower price to a new segment of buyers in the market.

This is the first post in a two-part series on the importance of open-houses in the home selling process. For more information about selling your home, conducting an open-house or are looking for a real estate agent, visit our website, and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Tags: home selling process, Open House Ideas
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Renovating to Sell – Do’s and Don’ts of Home Renovating Before the Sale

July 18th, 2011

Homeowners who are considering a renovation project before putting their home up for sale should consider these three things:

Very few home renovations will net the seller more money at closing once all of the bills are added up. Instead, tackle those areas that are going to be major turn-offs to most buyers.
Consult your realtor. The home renovation that you want to do may not be the one your agent recommends.
Every renovation project has a cost and an expected return. A realtor may not know how much it would cost to renovate a kitchen or a bath to your expectations; however, a good one should provide you with a free market analysis showing the value of your home with and without the renovation.

To learn more about the do’s and don’t of renovating to sell, be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

You can also find more helpful video like this one on our YouTube channel.

Tags: home improvements, Selling your Home
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Selling a Condo or Buying a Condo? – Better Check the HUD Approved Condo List

July 14th, 2011

If you are selling a condominium, or if you are in the market to purchase one, you had better know ahead of time if the complex is on the FHA-approved Condominium Project List. Why? Because the vast majority of first-time and lower-to-middle-income buyers will be obtaining an FHA mortgage, and the complex must be on the list of approved complexes in order to qualify for that type of loan. Your real estate agent has to know if the complex is FHA-approved as well, or you could in for a nasty surprise later in the process.

A little history and some facts are helpful to understand the situation. Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in 1934 following the Great Depression as an economic stimulus and incentive to turn a nation of predominantly renters into one of homeowners. The FHA became part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, in 1965. Today more than 5 million home mortgages are insured by the FHA.

The FHA does not lend money but it insures the loans made by others. The most important reason why buyers favor FHA-approved loans is that only 3.5 percent of the purchase price is required as a down payment. To purchase a condo for $100,000 with FHA financing, the buyer would need to put down $3,500; the same transaction using a conventional loan would require a $20,000 down payment. It’s easy to see why so many young families and first-time buyers can only purchase a home with an FHA-insured loan.

There are strict requirements for a complex to be included on the approved condominium list. For instance, at least 51 percent of all the units in a complex must be owner-occupied. In complexes that feature many rental units, no single investor may own more than 10 percent of all the units in the complex. There are numerous other requirements, but the point is that unless the condominium is on the approved list of projects, it will not qualify for FHA financing. Without FHA financing, many buyers will not be able to purchase.

Prospective sellers of low- to mid-priced condo units must understand this. If the complex is not on the approved list, then buyers must make a larger down payment, usually 20 percent, before a lender will even consider making a loan. To make matters worse, not all banks—even some of the largest lenders—will write a mortgage if the complex is not on the approved list. When the number of buyers becomes so restricted by the difficulty of finding a bank willing to make a loan, as well as having to come up with a large down payment, fewer buyers translates into lower real estate market values.

If a seller or their real estate agent is aware that a unit is in a complex that is not on the approved list, then any offers must be scrutinized for how financing will be secured. If the offer states that the buyer is putting down 3.5 percent, the real estate agent should understand that this is an FHA-insured loan and the offer can’t be accepted because that buyer will not be able to secure financing. The last thing a seller wants is to accept an offer and have the property under agreement for a month or more, only to learn later on that the buyer will have to back out.

If a real estate agent has not verified if a condominium project is on the FHA-approved list, whether it be the listing agent or the one working for the buyer, then that agent has not done his or her job and is flying totally blind. Trusting to luck should not be part of your real estate transaction. If you wish to see if your condominium is on the FHA-approved list, you can do so by visiting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website.

Tags: buying a condo, selling a condo
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Showing Your House: Getting the Front Door Keys to Show Your Property

July 8th, 2011

Showing your house is often times getting in the front door and a simple part of having your home shown to prospective buyers; next there are decisions to be made, and how you proceed from here has important differences and implications. Sometimes the way the key is obtained is a choice you make that is largely dictated by locally practiced real estate custom.

There are really only three ways for a seller to allow access of their listed property to prospective buyers. One is for you to be there and open the door to your home, but that is the least desirable and most inconvenient method for you to choose. The second is to have your real estate agent, the listing broker, use his or her key to the house and accompany the buyer and their agent for every showing. The third method is to use a device known as a lockbox that is located at the property into which the key is securely placed.

If you are selling your home on your own as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO), then you have to take on the tasks and responsibilities of the listing broker. One of those jobs is to schedule appointments and be flexible enough to allow your home to be shown mornings, afternoons and evenings during weekdays and on weekends and holidays. You will need to be at the property for a half-hour a day, or even for several half-hour intervals spread out over the same day so that you can show the home. However, most buyers feel intimidated by the owner’s presence and do not feel comfortable going through a home with them, so most FSBO showings are not that successful.

The most effective way to allow your home to be shown to as many buyers as possible is to use the lockbox, or “key box” as it’s sometimes called. This device is usually placed over the door handle or on an immovable post or railing near the door. The agent working with and bringing the prospective buyer to the home has the means to open the lockbox and accompanies the buyer through the house.

There are two types of lockboxes, and it’s important for the homeowner to know which kind your real estate agent uses. One type is a “combination” lockbox, one that is opened with a numeric code such as 1,2,3,4, or a string of alphabetical characters such as Z,E,N. This type of lockbox does not offer much in the way of security, because once the code is known or written down or passed on to someone, the listing agent has lost control of it. Unless the property is vacant, this is the least desirable and least secure; however, it can still be an effective way of giving the showing agent access to the property.

The most secure lockbox is an electronic type, which requires the real estate agent to have a password-protected keypad that transmits required data to the lockbox in order to obtain the key. The data that is collected verifies the agent who is showing the property, and a record is maintained of the date and time of the showing. Such systems can also block out times of the day the key is not to be made available. This system offers the ultimate in security and flexibility of use.

The major disadvantage of the lockbox and keypad system is that in some market areas its use is not the usual custom, and accompanied showings are the norm. The other downside to the system, if there is one, is that agents must have the keypad in order to operate the lockbox, and t the agent incurs a rental cost to obtain the keypad. This fee should be considered a normal cost of doing business, just the same as a cell phone or having to put gas in the agent’s car.

The last method of having buyers gain access to your home is to have your real estate agent, the listing agent, come to the property for every showing and accompany the buyer and seller’s agent through the house for the entire showing. In some geographic areas this is just the way it’s done, so using an electronic lockbox would hinder showings because most of the agents would not have access to a keypad. But where lockboxes are commonly used, which is in most real estate markets, requiring accompanied showings will also limit the number of visits since it now involves scheduling the time of three separate parties, the buyer, the buyer’s agent and the listing broker. This can become really cumbersome if the potential buyer is going to use the day to look at as many properties as possible, such as a relocation party coming in from out of town for just one day.

There is a good and justifiable reason for requiring accompanied showings. This is when the property is so unique that prospective buyers would not otherwise discover or understand the special details of the home. Such an instance would be justified for a 5,000 square foot, multimillion-dollar home, or one with an activated alarm system. In most cases, however, the buyer will in a few minutes decide whether the home works or not. Why complicate the process by adding one more layer of the listing agent’s availability to the scheduling process?

When a seller is interviewing potential real estate agents to list and market their home, finding out how each agent handles the process of getting buyers into the home should be a question near the top of the list. Accompanied showings can be helpful for a very special property, or for a second viewing by an interested buyer, but they will cut down on the total number of viewings. Lockboxes offer the ultimate in convenience and increase the number of showings, and electronic ones offer the best level of control and security.

Tags: front door keys, showing your house
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Helping Buyers Know If They Are Prequalified to Purchase Your Home in the Home Selling Process

June 30th, 2011

This is the last of a three-part series of posts on this important subject for home sellers. Part I delved into the differences between buyer prequalification and preapproval. Part II addressed the often overlooked fact that sellers themselves may need to have their own preapproval letter. This final post informs sellers, and real estate listing agents, of an important tool that can be used to prequalify buyers.

When your real estate agent holds a public open house at your property, there are many important handouts that should be made available to prospective buyers. One of them is a Financing Sheet that has already calculated what the buyer’s monthly payments will be under common financing scenarios. This is an important marketing tool because many attendees of open houses, especially first-time buyers, are just beginning their search for a home and may have no idea how much house they can afford. However, they do know what their current monthly rent is, and this is an easy way for them to see if they can purchase the home.

Typical Financing Sheets will have calculated the monthly principal and interest payments for down payment amounts of 5 percent, 10 percent and 20 percent of the purchase price. To this is added the monthly costs of property taxes, home insurance and private mortgage insurance, yielding the total monthly home ownership costs, not including utilities.

For example, the seller of home with an asking price of $300,000 would want to have a Financing Sheet prepared for the most common 30-year fixed mortgage and maybe another one for an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). Based on the percentage down payment amounts noted above, there would be three columns of figures, one with $15,000 as the down payment, another with $30,000 and the last one with $60,000. Using a current interest rate of 4.5 percent and zero-points, the monthly mortgage amount would range from a low of $1,217 (20 percent down) to a high of $1,444 (5 percent down). Adding in the additional costs of property taxes, home insurance and PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance, which is needed when the down payment is less than 20 percent) for this hypothetical property, the buyer’s ownership costs would range from $1,706 to as much as $2,118 per month.

In addition to the total monthly costs that are calculated, it’s nice to have the mortgage broker who prepares the Financing Sheet take it one step further. Based on underwriting standards, that monthly ownership cost translates to a required income needed to purchase the home. Taking the same illustration to this next step indicates that a buyer having only enough savings to make a 5 percent down payment must have a combined family income of $77,000 in order to be approved for a loan. If the buyer has $30,000 in savings to put toward the down payment, then the income needed comes down to $71,000. And, under the most favorable circumstances, if a buyer puts 20 percent down, the combined family income needed to purchase the property is $62,000.

These Financing Sheets, provided by an experienced real estate agent for each listing, go a long way towards prequalifying buyers as to whether they can afford to purchase your home. The Financing Sheet can also be used as a “reality check” for sellers. Sometimes they have absolutely no idea of how much income a buyer must have in order to be able to qualify for loan in order to purchase that home.

Tags: home buying process, home selling process
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Increase Home Resale Value With Radiant Barriers

June 23rd, 2011

Increase Home Resale Value With Radiant Barriers:

Increase Home Resale

If you are selling your home, you want to increase your resale value first. Many well-known improvements include landscaping, repainting, and a kitchen remodel.

However, a huge focus for home buyers today is energy efficiency. Many buyers will be willing to make a larger investment in a home that promises to consume less energy, resulting in lower utility bills in the years to come. Therefore, you will have an easier time of selling your home if you can show potential buyers that your home is more efficient than others they might be considering. An easy, cost-effective way to do this is to install radiant barriers.

A radiant barrier is applied either as a thick foil or paint that blocks radiant heat from the sun. For example, if your attic has a foil barrier in it—which is recommended over the paint version—97 percent of the radiant heat that enters from the roof will be reflected back up and exit the house through fans, vents, and wind turbines. Instead of reaching your living area and causing greater cooling needs in the summer, a vast majority of the heat exits before it can cost you anything.

Radiant barrier foil is sold in long rolls, much like the aluminum foil in your kitchen drawer, but on a larger scale. This product consists of two 99 percent aluminum layers sandwiching a woven polyester scrim. It’s lightweight and easy to carry, yet it’s also surprisingly strong and won’t tear. Radiant barriers are cut with box cutters and installed quickly between the attic floor joists, along the underside of the roof, and/or on the rafters. Because the installation of a radiant barrier in your home only takes an afternoon, it certainly makes for some creative home selling that is well worth your while to look into.

Learn what home improvements help or hurt your resale value before you start your next creative home selling project.

Tags: Increase Home Resale
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Increase Home Resale Value With Radiant Barriers:

Attention Sales Agents