Archive for the 'Sellers' Category
Are you selling your home? Or do you have your home on the market and no offers have appeared yet? Read on to find out how you can add some curb appeal to your home and even maybe, just maybe add a little more value to your home.
The way your house looks from the street can impact its value. It can also shorten the time it takes to sell your home. Advice from real estate agents, appraisers, home stagers, landscape designers and home inspectors suggested the following as the projects which would add most curb appeal and perhaps some value when selling your home.
1. Paint the house.
Hands down, the most commonly offered curb appeal advice from our real estate pros and appraisers is to give the exterior of your home a good paint job. Buyers will instantly notice it and appraisers will note it on the valuation. If you’re under two years remaining life on the paint work, paint the exterior because it tends to show wear badly. Just make sure you stay within the range of accepted colors for your market. A house that’s painted a wildly different color from its competition will be marked down in value by appraisers.
2. Have the House washed.
Before you make the investment in a paint job, though, take a good look at the house. If it’s got mildew or general grunge, just washing the house could make a world of difference. Pressure washing – a job to be left to the professionals, makes the house look “bright and clean in addition to getting rid of unsightly things like cobwebs, which may not be seen from the yard but will detract from the homes cleanliness when seen up close.
The cost to have a professional cleaning should be a few hundred dollars – a fraction of the cost of having the house painted.
3. Trim the shrubs and green up the yard.
Cut down overgrown bushes and shrubs and replace with leafy plants and annuals mulched with beautiful reddish brown bark. Cost will be minimal. You also don’t want any bare spots. Take the time to fertilize the yard, throw out some grass seed, and if needed, add some sod.
4. Add a splash of color.
It could be a flower bed of annuals by the mailbox, a paint job for the front door, or a brightly colored bench or an Adironack chair. You can buy a cute bench at Home depot for $99. Spray paint it bright red or blue and set it in the yard or on the front porch. This won’t add extra points from an appraiser for a brightly colored bench but it may help to sell the home faster than the one down the street.
5. Add a fancy mailbox and house numbers.
An upscale mail box and architectural house numbers or an address plaque can give your house a distinctive look that stands out from everyone else on the block. A good mailbox might cost $40-$50. Architectural house numbers may run as high as a few hundred dollars.
So try some of these ideas and see if they won’t just help you sell your home!
For more information on how we will help you to sell your home:
CALL PAM AND JOANNA
PAM PARTON: 760-580-1615 JOANNA WOOLLEY: 760-580-1630
Content by courtesy of House Logics, Realtor.com
6 reasons to reduce the price of your home
Has your home just been sitting on the market with no offers?
That could happen for a number of reasons that are outside of your control. Like a unique home layout, or having one of the few homes in the neighborhood without a garage. However, there is one factor you can control: your home price.
These six signs maybe telling you it’s time to lower your price.
1. You’re drawing few lookers – you got the most interest in your home right after you put it on the market because buyers want to catch a great new home before anybody else takes it. If your real estate agent reports that there have been few buyers calling about and asking to view your home than there have been for other homes in your area, this might be a sign buyers think it’s overpriced and are waiting for the price to fall before viewing it.
2. You’re drawing lots of lookers but have received no offers – if you’ve had 30 sets of potential buyers come through your home and not a single one has made an offer, something is off. What are other agents telling other agents about your home? An overly high price may be discouraging buyers from making an offer.
3. Your home’s been on the market longer than similar homes – Ask your realtor about the average number of days it takes to sell a home in your market. Buyers can begin to wonder if there’s something wrong with it, which can delay a sale even further. At least consider lowering your asking price.
4. You have a deadline – If you’ve got to sell your house soon because of a job transfer, or you’ve already purchased another home, it may be necessary to generate buyer interest by dropping your price so your home is priced a little lower than comparable homes in your area. Remember its not how much money you need that determines the sale price of your home, it’s how much money a buyer is willing to spend.
5. You can’t make upgrades – Maybe you’re out of cash and don’t have the funds to put fresh paint on the walls, clean the carpets, and add curb appeal. But the feedback your agent is reporting from buyers is that your home isn’t as well appointed as similarly priced homes. When your home has been on the market longer than comparable homes in better condition, it’s time to accept that buyers expect to pay less for a home that doesn’t show as well as others.
6. The competiton has changed – If weeks go by with no offers, continue to check the competition. What have comparable homes sold for and what’s still on the market? What new listings have been added since you’ve listed your home for sale? If comparable home sales or new listings show your price is too steep, consider a price reduction.
Content courtesy of Home Logic, Realtor.com.
CALL PAM AND JOANNA TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW WE WILL YOU SELL YOUR HOME.
PAM PARTON: 760-580-1615 JOANNA WOOLLEY: 760-580-1630
14243 Ridge Oak Place, Valley Center, CA 92082
This home is one of a kind – you will see no other like it in Valley Center. This custom European design and unique decoration with magificent panoramic views will leave you breathless. Located in one of the most prestigous communities of Beautiful Valley Center, Ridge Ranch Estates.
Enter into the grand entry with 17ft soaring ceilings. An elegant and romantic master bedroom suite with fireplace and forever views leads into a oversize master bath with highly upgraded fixtures and fabulous Valentina tiles througout. Contemporary chefs kitchen with bosch appliances and flamboyant cabinets.
Contemporary Chefs Kitchen
3873 sq ft of absolute luxury on 4.73 acres is a home not to be missed – so come by and get a guided tour of this unforgettable masterpiece.
Priced @ $995,000 – $1,150,000.
FOR ALL OF YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS CALL
PAM AND JOANNA.
PAM PARTON: 760-580-1615
JOANNA: 760-580-1630
The best approach for avoiding foreclosure-related scams can be described as two words: GET TOUGH. Being easy-going may work in social settings, but its all wrong when you’re facing foreclosure.
HOW TO AVOID FORECLOSURE SCAMS
Scam artists will intentionally seek you out. They hope to take advantage of you when you are distressed about possibly loosing your home or unable to deal with the complicated issues surrounding foreclosure.
As one homeowner who fell victim to a foreclosure-rescue scam said, “When you’re down and out you will believe anything.” As difficult as it is to face foreclosure, it will be a lot worse if you get mixed up with unscrupulous people. So get tough by vigilantly watching out for scams. Here are some things to watch out for:
- Appearing to be legitimate: Outwardly, scam artists do not appear or act dastardly. On the contrary, scam artists may look nice and clean-cut, and they may seem to be kind and trustworthy men and women. Scam artists often engage in “affinity marketing” which means they attempt to lure people by belonging to, or pretending to belong to, the same racial, religious, social or other group as their victims.
- Asking for money upfront before providing any service: One of the tell-tale signs of a possible scam is when someone makes a promise or representation, but asks you for money upfront before delivering on that promise. If you pay a scam artist, you are unlikely to see either your money or that scam artist again.
- Making unqualified promises: To lure you out of your money and home, a scam artist will often say whatever it is you want to hear in a very convincing manner. If you’re facing foreclosure, the scam artist is likely to assure you that he or she can stop it, fix it, or make the problem go away. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
- Lacking credentials: With certain exceptions, someone who charges you a fee to negotiate with your lender on your behalf must be licensed with the California Department of Real Estate. You can do a quick “License Status Check” at www.dre.ca.gov You should also conduct further investigations before doing business with someone, such as checking public records, the Better Business Bureau, and the Internet, asking for and verifying references, and going to the business address to see if it actually exists.
- Asking for you to do something immediately without delay: Scam artists will push you to make quick decisions, often by making up fake deadlines. They don’t want you to have a chance to mull things over, go over the paperwork, or discuss their scheme with your family, friends, lender, real estate agent, or anyone else.
- Asking for your signature: Whenever you sign a document, make sure you know what you are signing. Do not sign unless you have a chance to read and review the document. Do not sign if a document has blank lines left. Do not let someone con you by saying something in the document does’nt matter or does’nt mean what it says.
- Asking you to do something improper or illegal: Scam artists may ask you to participate in something improper or illegal. Proposing something a little improper may make their promises of stopping foreclosure more believable to fraudulent scheme. Do not compromise your position by getting involved in anything underhanded.
- Brushing aside your questions: To help smoke out the bad guys, ask a lot of questions, even if you know the answers. Be leery of doing business with someone who brushes aside your questions or gives the wrong answers. Indeed, an excellent way to protect yourself against scams is to learn as much as you can about foreclosure-related matters. Because scam artists prey upon ignorance, the more you know about foreclosures, the less likely you’ll be duped!
If you have any foreclosure related questions give us a call. If we do not have an answer we will refer you to some who does.
PAM PARTON 760-580-1615 JOANNA WOOLLEY 760-580-1630
Quick Tips for San Diego Homeowners on Short Sales and Your Credit
One of the most frequent questions that homeowners want to know is what happens to their credit score as the result of a short-sale. Here are a few points to remember.
1) When you negotiate a short-sale, the homeowner may still owe the difference between the mortgage balance and the discounted sales price. This amount can still be collected via a “Deficiency Judgement” If granted, this judgement may adversely affect the homeowners and their credit report (not unlike other judgements).
2) The best way to avoid the deficiency judgement is to ask the bank to agree to accept “Payment in full without pursuit of any deficiency judgement.”
3) Remember that the difference between the mortgage balance and the short sale may be declared as income on their tax return by means of a “1099.”
In dealing with any short sale, the homeowner should always speak with their accountant and/ or attorney to see how this sale will affect them.
content courtesy of Brian Olenik, Corinthian Title.
Call Pam and Joanna for more information on some great deals in North County San Diego.
PAM PARTON 760-580-1615 JOANNA WOOLLEY 760-580-1630
Guys – the statistics are out and they speak for themselves; women out-purchase us in the real estate market two-to-one! National data for the year ending last June reveals that single women accounted for 21% of all home purchases, to 10% of purchases for single men. That may just be an eye-opener for many of us in the business. Such a significant demographic group deserves to be both recognized and well-served by the real estate and financing industries. Click on the link below to read an excellent article on this subject posted by Marilyn Kennedy Malia on Bankrate.com:
“4 Tips for Single, Female Homebuyers”
Paul Gonzales, Sales Manager, Countywide Mortgage (760) 746-7388 or paulforloans@aol.com
Valley Center Market Trends February thru Mid March 2010
Valley Center Real Estate Trends
Well lets take a look at how the market is shaping up since the beginning of the year when we looked at Valley Center in are article Valley Center 92082 Homes Sold January 2010.
As we compare the different catagories, we dont see a huge significant difference. Appears the market is truly leveling off.
There are a few more active listings than there was in January, but that is expected as we go into the spring season. This is still considered a shortage of inventory and buyers are asking for more properties to choose from.
The average price per square foot is still about the same, now at $165.73. Very affordable!
Valley Center has so much to offer in the way of natural beauty and peaceful country living. Many people think it is so far from everything but, you can be to the freeway and on your way either north, south, east or west in a matter of 20-30 minutes.
If you are looking for a great place to live and at an affordable price, take a closer look at Valley Center, you may be very pleasantly surprised!
Home Prices Rise
Home sale prices in Southern California showed new energy in January, bouncing 8.6% from the same month one year earlier — a period when the market was inundated with steeply discounted bank-owned properties.
Compared with a very strong December, the median fell 6.1% to $271,500 in January, ending eight consecutive months of price appreciation or stability in the Southland, MDA DataQuick, a San Diego real estate research firm, quoted Tuesday.
The month-to-month decline was likely in part to the higher percentage of cheaper Inland Empire homes that sold in January compared with December as buyers in pricier areas stopped searching during the holidays and investors and first-time buyers made up a larger share of shoppers. Read the rest of this entry »
Home Equity
Trading Home Equity for Cash
Would-be borrowers still find most home mortgages tough to get in this semifrozen credit environment. A major exception is reverse mortgages for homeowners over age 62. These mortgages represented a growing market for the past decade. Even in the recession of 2009, the number of reverse mortgages grew 4 percent over the previous fiscal year.
Banks, brokers and savings and loans are happy to approve reverse mortgages because the Federal Housing Administration insures them; thus, lenders will be repaid even if the value of the house falls below the balance of the loan. And many consumers find reverse mortgages simpler to qualify for, because eligibility primarily involves borrowers’ age, home value and equity — not their income or credit history. Read the rest of this entry »
New Rules For Home Loan Modifications
Those seeking to ease their mortgage terms must now document their finances before a trial modification will be approved. Loan servicers must adopt the policy by June 1st 2010.
Taking borrowers at their word for how much they earn was a major cause of the mortgage meltdown. That practice may also be why an Obama administration program has struggled to convert temporary home loan modifications into permanent ones.
The government said last week that it would overhaul the program by requiring homeowners to document their incomes before trial modifications are granted. Read the rest of this entry »
