Those who are being overly kind would likely describe the current economic recovery as “sluggish.” Times are tough for many people, and the nucleus of this harsh economic reality is the housing market. But just because this market is struggling does not mean people don’t still need to sell their homes – or, for that matter, that people aren’t looking to buy new homes. In a down housing market many sellers simply bite the bullet and drastically lower the asking price. But there are ways for sellers to get around this painful gambit and get full market value for their homes.

Set the Home Apart

It’s important for the home to leave a lasting impression in the minds of potential buyers. To this end, custom designs or additions can do wonders to making a home more memorable. Improving the overall aesthetic by adding Berkshire or Duration roofing, or by installing new, high-grade windows can set a house apart from other homes in the neighborhood. Creative landscaping ideas, such as adding a backyard garden, complete with stone or mulch pathways, is another great way to draw attention. Homeowners can also compliment existing features, such as by adding a wooden deck near an outdoor pool.

Whip the House Into Shape

The importance of presentation in home sales can’t be understated. The potential buyer not only needs to see a spotless home, but a blank canvas in which to imagine his or her future living space. Sellers need to make sure the home is clean as well as free of clutter and may even want to consider hiring a stager to maximize the overall space. The cost of hiring a stager varies, but it’s possible to find these services for a couple hundred dollars. And if it results in a quicker sale, it will be well worth the cost.

Saturate the Advertising Market

These days most home buyers begin their search online. That means most potential buyers won’t even visit a home before they have found some online info about it. In fact, a study conducted by Trulia found that homes with more than six photos posted online were twice as likely to be physically visited than homes that didn’t. And there are many outlets to post these photos besides a real estate agent’s online page. Sellers should take advantage of social media sites such as Facebook as well as clip sites like YouTube. Sellers who post virtual tour footage of their home on video clip sites are more likely to attract potential buyers straight to their doorstep.

Maximize Curb Appeal

When the potential buyers finally arrive to the home it’s important to give them a “wow” factor right off the bat. That means ensuring the home’s external appearance is stellar and eye-catching. Some detailed landscaping and a fresh coat of paint goes a long way to creating goodwill among those looking to buy a home.

Sweeten the Pot

In a bare real estate market it is important to offer incentives. These will vary from seller to seller and home to home but there are plenty of deals to make. Sellers may want to consider offering closing cost credit, or possibly even covering the closing costs themselves. Sellers can also offer a transferable one-year home warranty, which will cover appliance failure. It’s incentives like this that will make the buyer feel like he or she is getting a real deal on the home.

It’s never easy to try and sell a home in a down market, that’s why it’s important for sellers to utilize every tool at their disposal. Following these simple steps will not only go a long way to selling a house in difficult economic times, but will ensure sellers won’t have to drastically lower the price as well.

Tricia Thomas is a professional blogger that writes for LuxuryHomeHunt.com, a leading Florida real estate website featuring Alaqua Lakes Homes for Sale.

The post 5 Tips to Selling a Home in a Down Market appeared first on OBVIOUS Magazine — Fashion & Lifestyle for Men and Women.

When you’re refinancing your home, the temptation often is to get your own appraisal to get a jump on the process. Don’t do it.

Appraisal Fraud

For years the industry has been riddled by collusion between appraisers, lenders, and sometimes borrowers. When I first got in the business it was common for a loan officer to call around until they found an appraiser that would give them a home value that would enable them to make the loan. If one appraiser wouldn’t give a high enough value the loan officer on the loan would just call another and another until he found an appraiser willing to play ball. Too often lenders would lose a loan because the appraisal came in too low so lenders and loan officers took matters into their own hands and made sure they would always get the value they needed.

Upside down from the Start

Because of the above practice, many borrowers were getting loans that were far higher than the home’s true market value. It wasn’t uncommon for people to be underwater by 40-50 thousand when their loan funded. Combine that with Stated (liar loans) Loan programs, and people were getting into homes that they could not even afford the payments on. Many got away with it when home values were going through the roof for so many years. It was easy to refinance your way out of the problem by taking out equity or just selling the home for a profit and starting over. When the real estate bubble burst both those options were taken away from distressed borrowers and many found themselves faced with foreclosure.

Ordering an Appraisal

Don’t jump the gun by getting an appraisal done on your own accord. Lenders today have their own set of standards and will not accept an appraisal that they haven’t ordered from one of their own approved appraisers. Neither the borrower nor the Loan Officer can order an appraisal. Usually a loan processor is the one to make the call and order the appraisal, that way no one is putting on any pressure to get a certain home value.

Finding the Value

The best thing you can do to make sure you have enough equity to refinance your home is to try to find the value on your own. The easiest thing is to call the guy who appraised your home the last time. His name, or his company’s name and number will be on the appraisal report. Call and ask to speak to the appraiser. Introduce yourself and remind him he appraised your home and what value he gave it. If you have made any improvements since the last appraisal let him know. Tell him you want to refinance and ask if he could give you a ballpark estimate. Most appraisers will do that for you because they want your business when you get ready to refinance. Armed with the figures he gives you you’ll know if you have enough equity to refinance and you won’t have to worry about the value being too low to do the loan.

Full Disclosure

When you are in the process of refinancing your home be sure to talk to your lender about any issues your home may have before an appraiser is sent out. Sometimes a person’s house will have an issue that can be solved between the borrower and loan officer, but if an appraiser sees it and documents it that could stop the loan in its tracks. Think about this example. You see a hairline crack on the wall near the ceiling in your living room. Your loan officer will probably tell you to run a paint brush over it and be done with it. If an appraiser sees it he will see it completely different; it’s his job to do so. In his mind he is seeing a roof with a hole in it and water is streaming through causing your wall to get soaked and the sheetrock to crack. His suggestion, replace the roof and wall before you refinance, when all it was, was a crack in the paint with no underlying causes. Believe me, it happens all the time.

The Last Word on Remolding and Home Repairs

If you are going to do some home repairs or remodeling, make sure you have enough money to finish it. I can’t tell you how many times a borrower has called me to refinance so they can finish a project that ground to a halt due to lack of funds. Many borrowers don’t see a half- finished job as a problem. They assume you can just refinance, get cash out, and finish the job. Very few lenders will lend on a home that is not finished so don’t start anything on the home unless you can finish it. It all boils down to communicating with your lender. Tell him everything about the home even if it seems insignificant. It’s often the one thing you skip over that sinks the ship.

Stacey Edwards writes for Environmental Data Resources, an environmental issues company that provides Radius Maps, Historical Aerials, and Sanborn Maps.

The post The Appraisal appeared first on OBVIOUS Magazine — Fashion & Lifestyle for Men and Women.

Vincent Thomas Leman is the creative mind behind Dust Furniture along with his wife Jessica.

Dust Furniture was founded in Valparaiso, Indiana in 2005, but they have been making furniture since 2001. The married duo makes furniture right out of their imaginations and sketches it onto paper. From there the sketch is scanned onto a computer.  To design intricate creations such as these can take months, or even years, because it requires a lot of discipline and preciseness

What sparks the minds of these two? It could be anything from a shape, curve or a simple movement.  The inspiration behind the name Dust Furniture came with the idea that imprinting the company’s name on each piece of furniture would remind the buyer to keep their pieces clean and dust free.

Vincent strays away from the straight lined furniture and gives buyers abstract one of a kind artwork. Everything is presented with a name, which all have different stories behind the creation. The cabinets and clocks look like props out of an Alice in Wonderland movie, but Vincent still invents furniture that is suitable for that empty corner in your house. And for those that are eco conscious, everything that is used to make the furniture is recyclable; from the paint to the packaging.

An interesting piece titled “Together We Can,” contains three cabinets stacked upon each other. The inspiration comes from Acrobats that were lifting each other up to reach a high goal. All of his cabinets are made stretched, curved and stacked together with unusual shapes and sizes.

Even though Vincent considers his creations to be traditional, he “strives to create furniture that is functional to the degree that it may be successfully integrated into daily life, yet–equally important–provides a spark to brighten the routine of daily life.”

http://dustfurniture.com

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