This is the time when sellers can become discouraged; thinking the oppurtunity to sell their home diminishes during the Holiday season. Well, good news for sellers-truly motivated buyers continue to look.
Consider some of the reasons why buyers want to buy: they might have relocated to the area, there could be an addition to their household, they may be looking to "downsize"; or they could be investors that want to take advantage of the unbelievable interest rates. Buyers' needs to purchase don't diminish- the sense of urgency can actually increase-which translates into a number of reasons for sellers to make their homes available.
An additional bonus for sellers is that homes are typically staged their best during this season. The Christmas lights are strung, the Holiday decorations are strategically placed, and the aromas of baking waft throughout the rooms. A positive emotional element is created that is unique.
If sellers have concerns that the buyers might want to close on the sale before the Holidays are over-relax; the closing date is one of the negotiable terms in the offer. Besides, most transactions are taking an average of 40 days to close-which will take you right into the New Year.
So, rake the leaves, get the pine needles off the roof, and sweep-or shovel-the sidewalks; Santa just might bring you the gift you really want-a buyer.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
It's That Time of Year!
The geese are practicing their flying formation and the crisp bite of fall is in the air; here are some recommendations to prepare your home for the changing season.1) Tune up your furnace to ensure that it is running efficiently; check ducts for any disconnects or crimping and consider investing in a programmable thermostat for efficiency.
2) Evaluate the physical condition of your home. Replace worn roof shingles and check flashings. Clean out gutters; run water through them to ensure that they are not clogged. Determine if adding insulation to your attic and/or crawl space would be beneficial. Wrap any unprotected pipes. Caulk all siding cracks and fill gaps. Replace old weather stripping.
3) Pay attention to your foundation; rake away all debris and seal up entry points. Secure crawlspace entrances to avoid unwanted residents.
4) Remember your chimney; inspect it inside and out. Replace the missing or damaged cap which keeps out foreign objects and prevents rain from mixing with the ash, causing damage to the interior of the fireplace.
5) Prepare an emergency kit; buy indoor candles and matches and place utility phone numbers in an accessible location. Store bottled water and some non perishable food-including pet food for your four legged family member. Practice your evacuation plan.
6) Locate your fire extinguishers and replace them if they don't work. Lastly, test your house alarms. Fall is a great time to routinely change all smoke detector batteries.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Prepping and Staging a House
Every seller wants her home to sell fast and bring top dollar. Does that sound good to you? Well, it's not luck that makes that happen. It's careful planning and knowing how to professionally spruce up your home that will send home buyers scurrying for their checkbooks. Here is how to prep a house and turn it into an irresistible and marketable home.
Here's How:
1. Disassociate Yourself With Your Home.
• Say to yourself, "This is not my home; it is a house -- a product to be sold much like a box of cereal on the grocery store shelf.
• Make the mental decision to "let go" of your emotions and focus on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours.
• Picture yourself handing over the keys and envelopes containing appliance warranties to the new owners!
• Say goodbye to every room.
• Don't look backwards -- look toward the future.
2. De-Personalize.
Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can't see past personal artifacts, and you don't want them to be distracted. You want buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can't do that if yours are there! You don't want to make any buyer ask, "I wonder what kind of people live in this home?" You want buyers to say, "I can see myself living here."
3. De-Clutter!
People collect an amazing quantity of junk. Consider this: if you haven't used it in over a year, you probably don't need it.
• If you don't need it, why not donate it or throw it away?
• Remove all books from bookcases.
• Pack up those knickknacks.
• Clean off everything on kitchen counters.
• Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use.
• Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do anyway.
4. Rearrange Bedroom Closets and Kitchen Cabinets.
Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. Think of the message it sends if items fall out! Now imagine what a buyer believes about you if she sees everything organized. It says you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well. This means:
• Alphabetize spice jars.
• Neatly stack dishes.
• Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.
• Hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction.
•Line up shoes.
5. Rent a Storage Unit.
Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Remove pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage. Since your bookcases are now empty, store them. Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make the room appear larger. Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room's purpose and plenty of room to move around. You don't want buyers scratching their heads and saying, "What is this room used for?"
6. Remove/Replace Favorite Items.
If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with you, remove them now. If the chandelier in the dining room once belonged to your great grandmother, take it down. If a buyer never sees it, she won't want it. Once you tell a buyer she can't have an item, she will covet it, and it could blow your deal. Pack those items and replace them, if necessary.
7. Make Minor Repairs
• Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don't close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls.
(Don't give buyers any reason to remember your home as "the house with the orange bathroom.")
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.
• If you've considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!
8. Make the House Sparkle!
• Wash windows inside and out.
• Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior.
• Clean out cobwebs.
• Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks.
• Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
• Clean out the refrigerator.
• Vacuum daily.
• Wax floors.
• Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
• Bleach dingy grout.
• Replace worn rugs.
• Hang up fresh towels.
• Bathroom towels look great fastened with ribbon and bows.
• Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no.
9. Scrutinize.
• Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside? Does the house welcome you?
• Linger in the doorway of every single room and imagine how your house will look to a buyer.
• Examine carefully how furniture is arranged and move pieces around until it makes sense.
• Make sure window coverings hang level.
• Tune in to the room's statement and its emotional pull. Does it have impact and pizzazz?
• Does it look like nobody lives in this house? You're almost finished.
10. Check Curb Appeal.
If a buyer won't get out of her agent's car because she doesn't like the exterior of your home, you'll never get her inside.
• Keep the sidewalks cleared.
• Mow the lawn.
• Paint faded window trim.
• Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion. Marigolds are inexpensive.
• Trim your bushes.
• Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.
Here's How:
1. Disassociate Yourself With Your Home.
• Say to yourself, "This is not my home; it is a house -- a product to be sold much like a box of cereal on the grocery store shelf.
• Make the mental decision to "let go" of your emotions and focus on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours.
• Picture yourself handing over the keys and envelopes containing appliance warranties to the new owners!
• Say goodbye to every room.
• Don't look backwards -- look toward the future.
2. De-Personalize.
Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can't see past personal artifacts, and you don't want them to be distracted. You want buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can't do that if yours are there! You don't want to make any buyer ask, "I wonder what kind of people live in this home?" You want buyers to say, "I can see myself living here."
3. De-Clutter!
People collect an amazing quantity of junk. Consider this: if you haven't used it in over a year, you probably don't need it.
• If you don't need it, why not donate it or throw it away?
• Remove all books from bookcases.
• Pack up those knickknacks.
• Clean off everything on kitchen counters.
• Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use.
• Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do anyway.
4. Rearrange Bedroom Closets and Kitchen Cabinets.
Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. Think of the message it sends if items fall out! Now imagine what a buyer believes about you if she sees everything organized. It says you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well. This means:
• Alphabetize spice jars.
• Neatly stack dishes.
• Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.
• Hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction.
•Line up shoes.
5. Rent a Storage Unit.
Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Remove pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage. Since your bookcases are now empty, store them. Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make the room appear larger. Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room's purpose and plenty of room to move around. You don't want buyers scratching their heads and saying, "What is this room used for?"
6. Remove/Replace Favorite Items.
If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with you, remove them now. If the chandelier in the dining room once belonged to your great grandmother, take it down. If a buyer never sees it, she won't want it. Once you tell a buyer she can't have an item, she will covet it, and it could blow your deal. Pack those items and replace them, if necessary.
7. Make Minor Repairs
• Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don't close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls.
(Don't give buyers any reason to remember your home as "the house with the orange bathroom.")
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.
• If you've considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!
8. Make the House Sparkle!
• Wash windows inside and out.
• Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior.
• Clean out cobwebs.
• Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks.
• Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
• Clean out the refrigerator.
• Vacuum daily.
• Wax floors.
• Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
• Bleach dingy grout.
• Replace worn rugs.
• Hang up fresh towels.
• Bathroom towels look great fastened with ribbon and bows.
• Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no.
9. Scrutinize.
• Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside? Does the house welcome you?
• Linger in the doorway of every single room and imagine how your house will look to a buyer.
• Examine carefully how furniture is arranged and move pieces around until it makes sense.
• Make sure window coverings hang level.
• Tune in to the room's statement and its emotional pull. Does it have impact and pizzazz?
• Does it look like nobody lives in this house? You're almost finished.
10. Check Curb Appeal.
If a buyer won't get out of her agent's car because she doesn't like the exterior of your home, you'll never get her inside.
• Keep the sidewalks cleared.
• Mow the lawn.
• Paint faded window trim.
• Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion. Marigolds are inexpensive.
• Trim your bushes.
• Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.
Should you Buy or Should you Rent? -- A Military Perspective
However, at most military bases, base housing has a backlog and you cannot get into it immediately. To maintain a no waiting list policy would require that there is always empty housing available and such excess housing is expensive to the government. So should the military member forced to live on the economy buy or rent? This article alone cannot give you the answer to that question but hopefully it will raise some questions that, once answered, will lead you to making a better decision.
The biggest financial advantage to buying a house is the tax breaks that are associated with home ownership. The taxes and interest are tax deductible each year that you own your home. In addition, any home improvements that you make can be written off when you sell your home. Furthermore, if you keep your home as a rental when you leave, not only can you deduct repairs and other expenses each year, you can also depreciate your house (take the value of your house-- not the land or the appliances inside-- and divide by 27.5. This number comes off your taxable income). The best part about all of this is that you are buying a house and all of the tax breaks with tax-free money (since your housing allowance is tax-free). If you rent instead, then all of these tax breaks go to your landlord.
There are other financial advantages to home ownership in the military. The first is that you can generally buy a bigger home than you can rent for the same money. This is because you do not need to make a profit while a landlord does. The second advantage is that if you are in a military town that your career will keep bringing you back to, you only have to go through these hassles once.
There are disadvantages with buying a home of course. The first is the up front cost. These are high enough that the general rule of thumb is that you must own a home for two years or more to break even over what it costs to rent. Obviously, if you are on an 18 month assignment at a base you will most likely not be reassigned to, then the advantages of buying a home are not likely to be worth the costs. Even if you are likely to return, there are added risks. If the house doesn't rent for one or two months, that is cash out of your pocket and you are unable to deduct it from your taxes. You can lessen this risk by using a property manager, but of course they charge money. Other potential costs include the cost of repairs if a tenant damages your property. While these can be recovered, the process can be tedious.
If you will not be keeping your house past your assignment, then you must think about resale value. Obviously your real estate agent can give you the best advice for your particular area, but some general rules are:
(A) Buy what others will want to buy, i.e. a good school district, enough bedrooms and bathrooms (usually no less than 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms)-- just because you may not have children does not mean the people you try to sell towon't
(B) Buy the smaller house in a large house area, not vice versa
A risk of special note in military towns is that the future will probably bring more base closings. A base closing in a big city may not impact the local housing market, but in a smaller city or town, the impact on home prices can be devastating. In the past, the military has helped out with some of these costs, but you will not be made whole. Unfortunately for smaller military towns, the whole purpose of closing bases is to eliminate smaller bases. In a larger town, you may be able to mitigate the risk by buying property away from the vicinity of the base.
To recap, the basic questions that you must ask before buying are:
•Am I unwilling to wait for base housing to become available?
•Do I have the up front money to buy a house?
•Can I get the financing to buy a home?
•Is this assignment longer than two years?
•If this assignment is less than two years, do I anticipate my next assignment will be in this town/area?
•If this assignment is less than two years, do I expect to return to the area?
•Is this base likely to remain open? (smaller base= more likely to close)
•Would this base's closing have a MINOR impact on the local housing market?
•Am I willing to put up with the headaches of being a landlord?
•Can I afford a property manager to manage my house as a rental?
•Can I pay the mortgage without a tenant for a month or two on my income?
•Can I afford to pay for an empty house while repairs are going on?
•Can I find the kind of house that will keep its resale value?
•Do I have to buy a house to be able to afford the space I need?
The more "NO" answers one gives to the above questions, the more one should try to rent the house or apartment that one needs. Again, this does not mean that these are all of the questions you should consider, but rather this is a general guideline. We should also caution that this article only evaluates the financial aspect of buying versus renting. Indeed, too much is made of home ownership as an "investment" in our society. In the end, it is not an investment, it is your home! The perfect home in the perfect neighborhood is often worth much more than the actual costs of living in it.
Good Luck!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Housing Markets That Will Be The Strongest in 2014
Housing Markets That Will Be Strongest by 2014 - BusinessWeek Bloomberg
REAL ESTATE August 3. 2010. 4:03PM EST
Home prices should begin an uneven rebound next year, says a forecast compiled for Businessweek.com by Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com
By Venessa Wong
At some point, everything stops falling. Sometimes things hit bottom with a bone-crunching thud and just lie
there in a heap. Sometimes they bounce back up at least part of the way. The U.S. housing market is in the
latter camp. While it's unlikely that U.S. home prices will return at any time soon to the highs of the bubble years, some local markets are showing resiliency. Even more encouraging, the forecast in numerous regions across the country is for a healthy recovery by 2014.
While four years may seem too distant to offer many U.S. homeowners much reassurance, the outlook could be worse. Taking into consideration such factors as employment, foreclosure rates, income growth, demographic trends, and construction costs, Moody's Economy.com and Brookfield (Wisc.)-based financial services industry information firm Fiserv (FISV) estimate that by 2014, U.S. home prices will be 7.2 percent above 2010 levels, with the strongest growth in the Pacific Northwest. In the short term, the waning impact of the first-time homebuyer tax credit and increasing foreclosure activity will keep the housing market anemic in most places. Fiserv and Moody's expect U.S. home prices to decline a further 4 percent before reaching a trough early next year, by which time prices will have fallen 32.9 percent from the peak levels of 2006.
PROMISING GAINS-AS SOME MARKETS DROP
"Prices have been falling for four to five years now," says David Stiff, Fiserv's chief economist. "Hopefully the
labor market will be making more steady improvements by next year" Already housing has shown some subtle signs of stabilization. In the first quarter, U.S. single-family home prices rose an average of 2 percent year-on-year-the first national gain since 2006-according to the Fiserv CaseShiller Indexes. The trend is promising, with the increase driven by homebuyer tax credits and gains in such traditionally strong markets as San Francisco and Washington, D.C. says Fiserv. Still, prices in already battered markets continued to fall: Detroit, Las Vegas, and many Florida markets experienced double-digit drops. Stiff says he expects to see home prices bounce up and down near their lows for the next two to three years, especially in the markets that experienced the largest price bubbles. The most robust market in the forecast is Washington State's Bremerton-Silverdale area, a quiet naval community across the Puget Sound from Seattle. Home sales and new construction in the area have slowed in 2010, but Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com expect prices there to shoot up by a total of 44.7 percent over the next four years- 9.7 percent annually-the highest forecast among 384 metropolitan statistical areas surveyed nationwide. Price levels have fallen about 21 percent from 2007 peak levels, according to the Fiserv Case-Shiller ·Indexes.
BREMERTON-SILVERDALE: LESS DISTRESS
One factor setting Bremerton-Silverdale apart has been a stronger economy than the rest of the U.S., says Stiff.The unemployment rate in the area is 7.2 percent, compared to 9.5 percent nationally, according to June datafrom the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bremerton's military demographic has helped to sustain employment.
The Naval Base Kitsap and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard provide numerous local jobs, says Ken LeMay, a real estate broker in Kitsap County, which includes the Bremerton-Silverdale area. Stiff adds that while the area has a large number of foreclosure and pre-foreclosure homes, the market is less
dominated by distressed sales than many other markets. In May, foreclosure resales made up about 12 percent of sales in Bremerton, compared to 19 percent in the U.S. as a whole, according to Zillow.com.
http://www.businessweek.comllifestyle/contentlaug2010Ibw2010082_282258.htm 8/12/2010
REAL ESTATE August 3. 2010. 4:03PM EST
Home prices should begin an uneven rebound next year, says a forecast compiled for Businessweek.com by Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com
By Venessa Wong
At some point, everything stops falling. Sometimes things hit bottom with a bone-crunching thud and just lie
there in a heap. Sometimes they bounce back up at least part of the way. The U.S. housing market is in the
latter camp. While it's unlikely that U.S. home prices will return at any time soon to the highs of the bubble years, some local markets are showing resiliency. Even more encouraging, the forecast in numerous regions across the country is for a healthy recovery by 2014.
While four years may seem too distant to offer many U.S. homeowners much reassurance, the outlook could be worse. Taking into consideration such factors as employment, foreclosure rates, income growth, demographic trends, and construction costs, Moody's Economy.com and Brookfield (Wisc.)-based financial services industry information firm Fiserv (FISV) estimate that by 2014, U.S. home prices will be 7.2 percent above 2010 levels, with the strongest growth in the Pacific Northwest. In the short term, the waning impact of the first-time homebuyer tax credit and increasing foreclosure activity will keep the housing market anemic in most places. Fiserv and Moody's expect U.S. home prices to decline a further 4 percent before reaching a trough early next year, by which time prices will have fallen 32.9 percent from the peak levels of 2006.
PROMISING GAINS-AS SOME MARKETS DROP
"Prices have been falling for four to five years now," says David Stiff, Fiserv's chief economist. "Hopefully the
labor market will be making more steady improvements by next year" Already housing has shown some subtle signs of stabilization. In the first quarter, U.S. single-family home prices rose an average of 2 percent year-on-year-the first national gain since 2006-according to the Fiserv CaseShiller Indexes. The trend is promising, with the increase driven by homebuyer tax credits and gains in such traditionally strong markets as San Francisco and Washington, D.C. says Fiserv. Still, prices in already battered markets continued to fall: Detroit, Las Vegas, and many Florida markets experienced double-digit drops. Stiff says he expects to see home prices bounce up and down near their lows for the next two to three years, especially in the markets that experienced the largest price bubbles. The most robust market in the forecast is Washington State's Bremerton-Silverdale area, a quiet naval community across the Puget Sound from Seattle. Home sales and new construction in the area have slowed in 2010, but Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com expect prices there to shoot up by a total of 44.7 percent over the next four years- 9.7 percent annually-the highest forecast among 384 metropolitan statistical areas surveyed nationwide. Price levels have fallen about 21 percent from 2007 peak levels, according to the Fiserv Case-Shiller ·Indexes.
BREMERTON-SILVERDALE: LESS DISTRESS
One factor setting Bremerton-Silverdale apart has been a stronger economy than the rest of the U.S., says Stiff.The unemployment rate in the area is 7.2 percent, compared to 9.5 percent nationally, according to June datafrom the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bremerton's military demographic has helped to sustain employment.
The Naval Base Kitsap and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard provide numerous local jobs, says Ken LeMay, a real estate broker in Kitsap County, which includes the Bremerton-Silverdale area. Stiff adds that while the area has a large number of foreclosure and pre-foreclosure homes, the market is less
dominated by distressed sales than many other markets. In May, foreclosure resales made up about 12 percent of sales in Bremerton, compared to 19 percent in the U.S. as a whole, according to Zillow.com.
http://www.businessweek.comllifestyle/contentlaug2010Ibw2010082_282258.htm 8/12/2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Gig Harbor Neighborhood Profile
Gig Harbor Neighborhood Profile
Quick Glance
Population: 6,621
Population Growth: 1.2%
Residents per square mile Population Density: 1,525
Median Age: 46 years
Median Income: $49,354
100 = national average, 110 = 10% more expensive Cost of Living Index: 124
Gig Harbor Weather
January Avg Temp: 31°F
July Avg Temp: 76°F
Sunny Days: 139
Precipitation Days: 181
Rainfall (inches): 57
Snowfall (inches): 10
Gig Harbor Demographics
Gig Harbor Jobs and Politics
Unemployment Rate: 6.4%
Recent Job Growth: 1.3%
Future Job Growth: 26.8%
Democrat: 50.5%
Republican: 48.1%
Independent (others): 1.3%
Gig Harbor Housing Statistics
Median Home Age: 22 years
Median Home Value: $492,399
Gig Harbor Education Statistics
Expenditures per pupil ($) School Expenditures: $4,184
Quick Glance
Population: 6,621
Population Growth: 1.2%
Residents per square mile Population Density: 1,525
Median Age: 46 years
Median Income: $49,354
100 = national average, 110 = 10% more expensive Cost of Living Index: 124
Gig Harbor Weather
January Avg Temp: 31°F
July Avg Temp: 76°F
Sunny Days: 139
Precipitation Days: 181
Rainfall (inches): 57
Snowfall (inches): 10
Gig Harbor Demographics
Gig Harbor Jobs and Politics
Unemployment Rate: 6.4%
Recent Job Growth: 1.3%
Future Job Growth: 26.8%
Democrat: 50.5%
Republican: 48.1%
Independent (others): 1.3%
Gig Harbor Housing Statistics
Median Home Age: 22 years
Median Home Value: $492,399
Gig Harbor Education Statistics
Expenditures per pupil ($) School Expenditures: $4,184
Pupil/Teacher Ratio: 18
Students/Librarian: 637
Students/Counselor: 319
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