“It’s not far, if you know the way.” Maybe it is an obvious statement but there are some definite steps that will improve your success in buying a home in today’s market.

1. Know your credit score – the best mortgage rates are available to borrowers with the highest scores. Unless you know what your credit score is at all three major bureaus, you don’t really know what rate you’ll have to pay.
2. Clean up your credit – it is estimated that about 90% of credit reports have errors. Some are not serious but others could affect a borrower from getting the best loan terms. It is your responsibility to know what is on your different reports and correct them if possible. You’re entitled to a free copy of your credit report each year from Experian, Trans Union and Equifax.
3. Get pre-approved – Taking the time to make a loan application with a qualified lender even before you start looking at homes will provide peace of mind, make sure that you are looking at the “right” homes and may help you negotiate the best price on the home you select.
4. Do your homework – when you find the home that meets your needs and desires, research the tax assessments, school ratings, crime activity, possible zoning changes and comparable sales in the area.

What do your neighbors, the Joneses, have?  Or the listing down the street or around the block?  The recent neighborhood comps?  If you don’t know, check with your Realtor.  Buyers will be looking at your house and at the other active listings, and will naturally compare them.  Appraisers will look at the recent market activity, the condition of the homes and the updates to the homes.

While you don’t want to overspend in your area, you do need to know what’s standard, so that you’ll know what buyers are comparing your home with, and ensure your home comes out on top.  Don’t be the last homeowner on the street to remodel; buyers will surely pass up your home for the one that has the remodeled kitchen and bathrooms, and then your house may languish on the market for months, and will then sell for less as time goes by.

Where will you get a good return on your money, and get your house sold?  Let’s get the powder room, kitchen and master bath updated.  Focus on keeping your updates neutral, clean, and classic.  Lighting fixtures, towel bars, and fresh towels can make a big difference.  For the kitchen, consider new cabinet doors and drawer fronts, cabinet hardware, stainless steel appliances, new countertops, new flooring if it’s worn, and a neutral wall color.  The kitchen remains one of the biggest selling points, and making it sparkle will bring the buyers in and keep their attention focused on your house.

Have specific questions about updating your home?  Give me a call.  I’d be happy to show you what your neighbors have been doing too!

Best regards, Gretchen

Did you miss the First Four Best Uses of Your Time and Dollars for Howard County Home Sellers?  #1 Decluttering | #2 Cleaning | #3 Curb Appeal | #4 Walls and Floors

Best regards, Gretchen

Did You Know?  A professional stager is an awesome investment at any point in this series.  Call me today at 443-676-1625 if you’d like to receive a free home staging consultation with a professional home stager. (Limited time offer.)

Well, Here they are, the May 2011 County Housing Stats for Maryland.

Typically, six months' inventory is considered the breakeven point, between a buyers' market (over 6 months inventory actively available) and a sellers' market (under 6 months inventory actively available.)

The highest inventories, Somerset, Garrett and Kent, show a marked difference between the lowest inventories, Montgomery, Frederick, Prince George's, and Howard.

If you'd like more local information on a particular county or neighborhood, just let me know.

Best regards, Gretchen

Howard County Home Sellers – The 5 Best Uses of Your Time and Dollars - #4 – Walls and Floors (Cost: Low; Return: High)

Remove/Repaint/Replace:  Remove wallpaper; Repaint walls; Replace carpet

Have wallpaper?  I’ll bet you loved it when you first selected it and put it up; you may still love it.  But what are the chances that a home buyer today, walking into your house, will have the exact same taste, especially several years later?  Take it down.

We want your buyers to be able to envision themselves in this house, with their tastes, their colors, and their furnishings.

Liked vivid colors on your walls?  Haven’t painted in years?  What?  Still have the old faded builders’ off-white somewhere?  A fresh coat of paint, neutrals, will really enhance the way your home shows.  A gallon of paint is worth $20 in the can and $1000 on your walls.  Bright, light homes sell faster and more often than dark and dreary homes.  They feel more spacious, which is important to today’s pool of home buyers.

Carpet.  I know.  It seems like a lot of trouble.  It would be easier to wait and let the buyers pick out what they want.  You think they can visualize new carpet?  Usually, they’re busy noticing all the wear and tear, and wondering how well the rest of the home was taken care of, and believe the carpet’s condition is an indication.  Don’t believe for a minute that having buyers note wear and tear is a good way to get your house noticed.

Let’s go for clean freshly painted walls and clean carpets, leaving the buyers’ full attention focused on the space in the home, the views, how they’d use the rooms, and where their furniture would fit best.

Did you miss the First Three Best Uses of Your Time and Dollars for Howard County Home Sellers?  #1 Decluttering | #2 Cleaning | #3 Curb Appeal

Best regards, Gretchen

• Did You Know?  A professional stager is an awesome investment at any point in this series.  Call me today at 443-676-1625 if you’d like to receive a free home staging consultation with a professional home stager. (Limited time offer.)

Howard County Home Sellers – The 5 Best Uses of Your Time and Dollars - #3 – Curb Appeal (Cost: Low; Return: High)

Curb Appeal:  You knew it was coming, didn’t you?  Howard County Home Sellers should know that curb appeal matters.  I always let my buyers know that it’ll be very helpful to them to DRIVE BY the homes they see on their internet searches, past the home, through the neighborhood, and at different times during the day and/or week, to get a feel for the area.  So take my word for it, you will definitely have more buyers IN your house, contemplating buying it, if you get them OUT OF THE CAR and THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR!

TO the Front Door:

• Paint the front door, along with the door and nearby window trim.
• Replace the door hardware, house numbers, and weary porch lights.  Ensure your door opens and closes easily and that the locks work properly.  You don’t want the agent to have to struggle with the front door lock in order to get inside.
• Powerwash and/or sweep the front steps and sidewalk.
• Trim the bushes, mulch the flowerbeds, and add some flowers – and then keep them watered.
• Go out to the street, imagine where your potential buyers will park, and then follow their walk up to your front door.  Ensure it’s a pleasant one!

THROUGH the Front Door:

So you’ve walked up to your front door.  Now open it, walk in just a step or two and then stop and look around.  Try and see your home with new eyes.

• Is it welcoming?  
• Is it sparkling clean? 
• Is it uncluttered? 
• Is it light?  Neutralized?  Freshly painted?
• Could a buyer imagine themselves and their furnishings in your house?

Need someone to look for you?  Give me a call.  It’s much easier to look with someone else in order to see what a buyer might see.  I’m happy to help!

Did you miss the First Two Best Uses of Your Time and Dollars for Howard County Home Sellers?  #1 Decluttering | #2 Cleaning

Best regards, Gretchen

·        Did You Know?  A professional stager is an awesome investment at any point in this series.  Call me today at 443-676-1625 if you’d like to receive a FREE home staging consultation with a professional home stager. (Limited time offer.)

Howard County Home Sellers – The 5 Best Uses of Your Time and Dollars - #2 – Cleaning (Cost: $0; Return: High)

What would Martha Stewart do?  Clean and Organize!  Or as I like to tell my Howard County Home Sellers, “You need to Martha Stewartize this linen closet.” 

Clean: 

• Windows:  Wash inside and out.  Twice, if necessary.
• Bathrooms:  Re-caulk your tubs, showers and sink; bleach grout if stained; polish faucets and mirrors; fresh towels.
• Kitchen:  Clean out the refrigerator, oven, stove top, the dishwasher.
• House-wide:  Dust – cobwebs, ceiling fan blades, light fixtures; replace worn rugs.
• Daily upkeep:  Vacuum, sweep front steps, clean front door, storm door fingerprints, bathroom mirror splashes, and wipe down sinks and countertops.

Rearrange:

• If the contents of  your closets and cabinets are neat, clean, and well-organized, they’re sending a message that YOU are neat, clean, and well-organized – and that you take care of the REST of the house just as carefully.  Good message to send potential buyers!

Repair:  Minor repairs not handled again send a message to buyers, so:

• Check that all doors and drawers open and close easily and latch properly.
• Patch and repaint holes in the walls or doors.
• Fix leaky faucets and ensure drains close properly.
• Replace burned-out light bulbs – and replace them with the highest allowable wattage.

Buyers notice if something doesn’t work properly, and then they start to look for other issues in the house.  As I’ve pointed out in previous posts, choosing a house is a process of elimination.  A buyer could easily eliminate your home from their list of top choices if they think it hasn’t been well maintained.  After all, if minor issues weren’t addressed, it could easily be construed that larger, unknown issues exist as well.  Don’t let the fear of the unknown scratch your house from the top of their list!

Did you miss the First Best Use of Your Time and Dollars for Howard County Home Sellers?  #1 Decluttering

Best regards, Gretchen

• Did You Know?  A professional stager is an awesome investment at any point in this series.  Call me today at 443-676-1625 if you’d like to receive a FREE home staging consultation with a professional home stager. (Limited time offer.)

Howard County Home Sellers – The 5 Best Uses of Your Time and Dollars - #1 – Decluttering  (Cost: $0; Return: High)

Really, you’re going to have to pack up your Howard County home sometime in order to sell it, so start now.

We’re getting ready to market your home, and your intention is to sell quickly for a good price.  We want to make sure everything possible is done to attract buyers, so let’s get started.

Room by room, what do you want to keep?  What is ready to go to someone else?  Need resources?  Call me.  Craigslist, Freecycle, Vietnam Veterans of America, Lupus Foundation, I’ve got lots of contacts for you.  If you’re don’t love it and you don’t use it, let someone else have it now, rather than packing it up and moving it to your next home with you.

Remove family photos, heirlooms, fragile items and pack them now.  I’ve shown houses to lots of buyers who peer into the photographs, wondering about the owners, trying to sort out who they are and what their story is.  Help the buyers stay focused on the house itself, thinking instead about how they would use the space and the layout, and where their furniture would fit in the rooms.  We want them to be able to picture themselves living here.

Pack at least half of: your books, your linens, your kitchen appliances, you plastic storage containers.

Pack ALL of:  your knickknacks, your family photographs, any draperies, chandeliers, or other attached fixtures that you’re taking with you to your new home.

Pack or put away:  everything on the kitchen counter.

Remember:  every bit of this sorting and pre-packing will make your move go more smoothly later on!

Consider renting a storage unit.  Less furniture in the house is usually good, again, making it feel more spacious.  And all those boxes you’ve pre-packed will have a place to go as well.  Attic or garage full?  If you don’t have time to sort through it all now, at least get it into the storage unit until you have time.  You can order pods delivered right to your house, fill them, and then have them picked up and taken to storage, so that you don’t have to rent a truck and move everything from one location to another.  That way, you can move onto your next step!

Best regards, Gretchen

• Did You Know?  A professional stager is an awesome investment at any point in this series.  Call me today at 443-676-1625 if you’d like to receive a FREE home staging consultation with a professional home stager. (Limited time offer.)

Just purchased a Howard County home and wondering about the current property tax reassessment requirements?  On page 9 of the Maryland Association of Realtors' Residential Contract of Sale, is paragraph 51, entitled "Property Tax Notice - 60 Day Appeal."  And it reads, "If any real property is transferred after January 1 and before the  beginning of the next taxable year to a new owner, the new owner may submit a written appeal as to a value or classification on or before 60 days after the date of the transfer."

There is a lot of information in these contracts.  With a standard number of addenda, there can easily be 60+ pages.  And just when a homebuyer's done digesting it, there are frequently HOA (Home Owner Association) docs and/or Condo docs, to go through next.  It's sometimes hard work being a good consumer, but it's worth it!  Make sure you understand the process of buying your home, and then the process of living in it.  (HOA and condo regs, property taxes, etc.)

So back to your 60 Day appeal process for your property taxes.  Given that Howard County property values have decreased over the past couple years -- and this is not all bad news - it means the homebuyer could purchase more home for less money - property taxes, based on assessed value, should have also decreased.  However, they follow the market trends rather than leading them.

In Howard County, properties are reassessed every 3 years, so if a homeowner buys mid-cycle, it could be some time before the assessed value is changed, thus changing their property taxes, and paragraph #51, with the 60 Day Appeal period, is to their benefit.

The Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation does a good job of listing out the Assessment Appeal Process: 

• For purchasers of a property settling between January 1st and June 30th, the home buyers have a 60 day appeal period, in which to go forward and submit the assessment appeal paperwork. 
• The paperwork, the Petition for Review of Real Property, can be submitted and the new home owner can either ask that the appeal process be completed in person, over the phone, or in writing.
• Additionally, for current homeowners who have not recently purchased, when you receive your Notice of Assessment (once every 3 years), you have a 45 day period from that day in order to follow the Assessment Appeal Process as well.

An appraisal of the home will not be necessary to include with the Petition.  Rather, recent neighborhood sales comps should be sufficient to justify the decreased assessed value.  If you would like assistance in identifying comps, let me know; I'd be happy to help.

Best regards, Gretchen

Staging - 5 Reasons I Believe In Staging - Reason #5:  You Can Relax

Let’s work together to get your list of To-Dos for your Howard County home done quickly, so you can hit the ground running and sell your home for the highest price, in the least amount of time.  Let’s inconvenience you for as short a period of time as is possible, attracting serious buyers right from the start.

If you’re selling in order to buy, this will be the time that you can focus on being a Buyer, knowing that you’ve done everything necessary to best show and sell your home, and can now focus on Part Two of your transition.

Are you ready to get started?  Let me know if you’re interested in referral information for a professional home stager for your Howard County home. 

Did you miss the first 4 Reasons I Believe In Staging?  Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 |

Best regards, Gretchen

Staging - 5 Reasons I Believe in Staging - Reason #4: The Competition

Howard County Buyers are looking at a lot of Howard County houses – Comparing, eliminating, choosing.  I saw three homes today with my buyer, very similarly priced.  It was clear, walking into the 2^nd, that the 1^st was only going to help sell the 2^nd.  The 1^st was not decluttered, not staged, not freshly painted or carpeted.  I had to look at the two prices again, just to be sure!  The house that’s NOT ready to be seen/sold is helping the OTHER Sellers.  Ask yourself:  Do you want to sell YOUR home, or do you just want to help sell your neighbors’ homes, while your home sits on the market?  Believe in Staging!

And once your home is ready to be seen, decluttered, neutralized, freshened, and staged --  PLEASE make sure your Realtor is taking multiple photos!  Once again, you can work to get YOUR home sold, or you can help sell the homes of your neighbors.  If you only have a couple photos, dimly lit, yellowed, or just one exterior shot, or worse yet --  NO PICTURES – Buyers absolutely wonder what’s wrong with the house, and PASS IT BY!

The vast majority of Buyers begin their search online.  And they sort the homes to look at by THE NUMBER OF PHOTOS!  REALLY!  Do not let your home be eliminated from their list of possibilities before they even see it.  And ask yourself again, do you want to sell your house, or just list it? 

Did you miss the first 3 Reasons I Believe In Staging?  Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 |

Best regards, Gretchen