home owners: Getting Your Home Ready To Sell In A Hot Market
- 08/06/12 04:11 AM
The Orange County, California real estate market has been called “hot” in the news quite a bit lately. A “hot” real estate market means there is competition not only between different homes but between mutiple offers for one home. Having your home in the best possible "sell-ready" condition makes your home more competitive with other homes and makes it more valuable for potential buyers...which means offers will be higher. Here is a brief checklist of a few important factors to address in getting your home sell-ready: Clean and shine all of your appliances...inside and out. They may not be brand new, … (2 comments)
home owners: How To Keep Your Stone and Tile Surfaces Looking Like New
- 02/01/12 08:59 AM
The beauty of stone countertops and ceramic tile has become more and more popular over the years. It's no wonder, as these surfaces add a nice upscale touch to your home and actually add to the resale value. Though people love stone and tile for both the look and the durability, both do require proper care and shouldn't be taken for granted as resurfacing or replacing can be quite costly. Here are 4 tips to help keep your stone and tile surfaces looking their best while at the same time protecting your investment: The 6-Month Seal Rule: Every six months, reapply … (2 comments)
home owners: 2012 Housing and Mortgage Predictions...and Tug Of War
- 01/24/12 06:49 AM
A business associate of mine, Robert E. Toffel from USA National Title, shared his article with me concerning the usual beginning-of-the-year predictions that are surfacing in the real estate world. If there's anything to be learned here it's 1) improvement has been predicted, 2) decline has been predicted and 3) since both improvement and decline have been predicted, it's best to make educated decisions to take care of your own real estate needs. You can find opinions to back any side of the equation, so focus on your needs and the best way to handle them. That being said, here is … (0 comments)
home owners: How to Make the Best Use of Your Home Office Space
- 12/09/11 02:41 AM
More people are working from home now than ever before. More and more people are dedicating areas in their homes to be used as full-time home offices. Whatever the size, here are some tips for maximum efficiency in designing and equipping your home office: 1. Be organized. Make the most your home office space by using uniformly sized storage containers to store important papers and office supplies. The uniform size will be a better fit in your office space and eliminate most wasted space. 2. Ergonomic chairs and wrist pads help prevent carpel tunnel syndrome, as typing has become more common … (2 comments)
home owners: Recommended Reading For Homebuyers
- 09/07/11 05:30 AM
Whether you’re a first-time home buyer or just haven’t gone through the buying process in a long time and want to get current (or if you just love reading books about real estate), here’s a list of reading that I think you will find very helpful in the process:) 10 Minute Guide to Buying and Selling Your Home (10 Minute Guides) This book covers it all efficiently, from price to strategy to the big one for both buyer/seller and agent – preventing and avoiding last-minute problems at the closing table. 10 Steps to Home Ownership: A Workbook for First-Time Buyers Author … (3 comments)
home owners: Mortgage Relief for the Unemployed - New and Actually Improved
- 08/04/11 05:29 AM
As of August 1st, HUD is putting into action a revamped version of last year's Home Affordable Unemployment Program. In that program, unemployed homeowners could get a three-month forbearance on their mortgage payments while they looked for a job. Unfortunately, the program was not a resounding success. Only 10,000 of the 13 million unemployed in the country qualified for the aid, which was a three month forbearance...not much when you consider that nearly half of those who are unemployed have been unemployed for at least 6 months. The new and improved version of the program significantly increases the three months to … (0 comments)
home owners: What REALLY Adds Value To Your Home?
- 07/11/11 12:24 AM
There are many misconceptions about what truly adds value to your home and can make it sell for a higher price. Some sellers have found out the hard way that modifications they perceived as adding value actually do the opposite, especially in today's market. In past years, the big culprit has been the addition of a swimming pool. NAR has released reports over recent years that clarify what adds value and what doesn't. Here is a checklist of some of the results. Central AC can add up to 12% to the price of a home. Remodeling to add additional living area … (0 comments)
home owners: Get Rid of Clutter Now and Save Time Later
- 06/08/11 09:18 AM
How many times have you moved in your life? Close your eyes and remember the feeling…you get the big, bulky pieces of furniture, appliances and other items out of the way and then you realize it's time for the real work. You have your work cut out for you with all of the clutter and miscellaneous bits and pieces that will either need to be given away, sold, boxed up or thrown away. This is typically the most tedious and time-consuming part of the moving process. Even if you’re not planning on moving anytime soon, take some time on a … (3 comments)
home owners: May...Or May Not
- 05/31/11 02:59 AM
There's a great article on the KCM (Keeping Current Matters) blog that touches on some good reasons to consider selling your house rather than waiting, if a move is indeed in your future. There are some really good points made and here are some of the highlights... Springtime, especially May, is when most buyers enter the real estate market. This greatly increases exposure and the chance of getting quality offers, just by sheer volume. Foreclosures and short sales are increasing in total. While the influx of new foreclosures and short sales may be going down, there is a large … (0 comments)
home owners: Fire Safety All Year Round
- 05/19/11 02:54 AM
Even though October is the "official" National Fire Safety Month, in these fast-paced times it’s easy to overlook fire safety and precautions in your home so here is a fire safety checklist to help you out: 1. Smoke alarms. Comedian Jim Gaffigan once said that you know you watch too much TV when you replace the battery in the remote with the battery from your smoke alarm. Put fresh batteries in your smoke alarms and test each one to make sure it’s functioning properly. Of course, make sure you have enough for your home (one per story in the hallway or near bedrooms). 2. Matches and … (0 comments)
The Orange County, California real estate market has been called “hot” in the news quite a bit lately. A “hot” real estate market means there is competition not only between different homes but between mutiple offers for one home.
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