Archive for the ‘home remodeling’ Category
Tips to Sell Faster and for More Money #3- Decorating Allowances
In the third part of our Series “Tips for Selling Your Home Faster and For More Money”, we address the topic of decorating allowances.
Question: Do Buyer’s Prefer Decorating Allowances or Do They Buy the Homes that already have the Work Done?
Answer: Home Buyers overwhelming chose property that is in move-in condition, versus, outdated homes that offer decorating, carpet or paint allowances.
Reason: First, an unappealing home is an immediate turnoff. It is very difficult for most people to picture how a home would look, if offensive eyesore’s were removed. So, if the property isn’t exceptionally cheap, the potential deal will end before it begins. Secondly, buyers always question why the homeowner wasn’t willing to do the work, what else may be wrong that they can’t see and why they should put forth the effort, anyway. Thirdly, there are thousands of distressed properties to chose from. No one would be interested in purchasing a nasty headache, even if they could picture themselves living there, unless the home was priced thousands of dollars under the market? 
Seller Must Do’s: a) If you have carpet over hardwood flooring, immediately remove it and refinish the floors. b)Repaint. Paint is inexpensive and offers more bang for the buck than any other improvement a seller can make. Choose neutral colors (tour builder models or new homes for idea’s). Soft yellows or golds are warm and inviting. Peaceful, soft greens and blues are great for bedrooms because they are restful to the eye.
Same shot, after repainting with a neutral color.
If you selling the purple entry home with a paint allowance or selling the same home with a neutral entry and no allowance, ask yourself which home you would honestly be interested in seeing more of? What is your first impression? Which home would you pay more for?? This is exactly what your potential buyer thinks, too.
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Tips to Sell a Home Fast & For Top Dollar #2- Updates to Avoid
Today we continue with our daily short tips for selling any home quicker and for more money.
Tip #2 for Selling Your Home Quickly and For Top Dollar $$$$$$
5 Renovations or Updates you should AVOID!!
If you are selling your home, sometimes updating or renovating can increase your asking price or entice buyer’s to jump for a quick sale. Other choices can be a waste of time and money. Renovations to avoid include,
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Never put high end appliances in a modestly priced home.
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Avoid the use of high end finishout material such as hand-painted tile, granite counters or high end sinks and fixtures in the baths and kitchens of average priced homes.
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Don’t add Central Air Conditioning unless all the homes in your area have it.
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Forget replacing windows, unless they are damaged, broken, fogged or they don’t open and close properly.
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Never add central vacuum systems for resale purposes.
While there are home improvements that can help you sell faster and for more money, these five upgrades are time waster’s and money losers.
Check back in next Monday, April 6th for some inexpensive update idea’s that will help you accomplish your goals and make you money.
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2 Home Staging Tricks for Under $25
The spring home selling season is upon us and we have a couple of great tricks to help home seller’s stage and declutter their home, without spending a lot of money.
Bed risers are an easy fix to update a bedroom 
and provide much needed storage space. With the addition of a simple skirt to cover the legs, you can achieve the look of a new, fancy platform bed for under $25, and you have a place to hide your linens or personal items.
Removing unused interior doors and shutters is another great trick for increasing light and space, while improving the traffic flow in your home. If you have interior doors that you never use, it is unlikely that anyone else will need them either. To get them out of your space, grab a screwdriver and take them off their hinges. Then, putty in the holes and touch up the paint. Removing unused doors is simple to do and best of all it is FREE.
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Cheap Kitchen Update Increases Saleability
Dear Why 6 Percent Broker,
I would really value your opinion about the appearance of my kitchen. Our home has been on the market for 6 months. Our MLS listing has generated several showings, but no one has made an offer. I think the biggest turn off in our house is the kitchen and I would like to know what you think about it. I emailed this photo, so you can see it for yourself. I really need your opinion about updating the kitchen, without spending a lot of money. Would you mind giving us a few suggestions that would help our home sell?
Thank you, C Dalton
Dear Ms Dalton,
You are right in your assumption that the kitchen is the heart of every home. You are also correct about the fact that an outdated kitchen can stop a potential sale. Even if your home is priced under the market, homes that are in “move in” condition, simply appeal to a much wider audience.
The good news is that your kitchen looks spacious and its “L” shape is functional and popular. This means you can update your kitchen and increase the appeal, without spending a lot of money. Here are a few suggestions that won’t bust your budget and will likely increase your saleablility.
- Remove the Wallpaper and Repaint the Walls: First of all, a coat of fresh paint always provides more bang for the buck than anything else a homeowner can do. Your yellow kitchen walls are bright and sunny, but people tend to like yellow or hate it. I think you should repaint the walls with a nice neutral color and use a satin finish paint. You don’t want the kitchen to be shiny (gloss) or too flat and hard to wipe clean(flat paint). You can possibly get away with painting over the wallpaper versus removing it. If the paper is really stuck to the wall, you can buy a Primer at Sherwin Williams that was made for this purpose.
- Replace the Countertops: Your countertops age the room and make neutralizing your kitchen very difficult. New Formica or laminate countertops offer a fresh new look, without spending much money. You can also consider tile countertops without busting your budget. Tiling costs about the same as a laminate and provides more function (cut or place hot pans on it) with a custom look. Depending upon the price range of your house, you can even consider using granite tiles for a really expensive look. Installing granite tiles gives you the look of granite slab at a fraction of the cost.
- Remove the Scroll Moulding over the Cabinets: It may be a small thing, but this type of moulding is busy on the eye and is outdated. It also appeals to very few buyers. I suggest that you remove the moulding entirely. If you need a moulding to hide gaps between the cabinets and furdowns, use a simple quarter round or crown moulding instead. Paint the new moulding white to match the cabinets.
- Update the Cabinet and Drawer Hardware: New door and cabinet pulls sold at DIY centers like Home Depot or Lowes go along way in updating a kitchen. In addition to a wide selection, the prices are very reasonable for a kitchen your size. If you can’t decide on a style, visit a few builder model homes and choose a type similar to the ones they select. To make installation easy, choose handles or pulls that line up with the holes that are already drilled in your cabinets. If the new holes don’t align with the old ones, you will have to fill the holes and touch up the paint.
- Declutter: Buyers like kitchens that appear spacious, without clutter, and offer plenty of countertop space. You should remove the papertowel dispenser that is hanging below the cabinet and hide it inside the sink cabinet. Remove all the small appliances, spices, bags of potatoes and cooking instruments that line your countertops and hide them out of view. Kitchen’s should also be spotlessly clean. The sink should sparkle and all the dishes should be stored in their proper place. Clean out your cabinets, drawers and pantry. Move any items that aren’t used daily into storage boxes. The idea here is to create as much usable storage space as you can. If a buyer see crammed drawers and cabinets, they will assume that your kitchen doesn’t have enough storage space for their needs, either.
- Vent-a-Hood and Oven: The vent-a-hood and oven should blend in with the cabinets. Buy some spray paint for metal applications. Tape off the area and ID plates, then spray the appliances white to match the cabinets.
Thank you for writing to Why6Percent.com. Hopefully, the suggestions are in line with your thinking and your budget. I am confident that you are on the right track about the kitchen freshen up. Buyers will certainly appreciate the improvements and the bonus is that you will enjoy them, too. Good luck on your sale and please keep us posted.
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SELLER’S SHOULD VERIFY THE NUMBERS BEFORE RENOVATING
During slow housing markets in the past, many seller’s have made money and gained equity by remodeling or renovating their homes, while they waited out the downturn.
Things have changed in 2008. Homeowner’s in this market should carefully run the numbers and focus only on a rate of return, before deciding to put more money into their homes.
Today’s steep price declines and the record number of vacant foreclosed property mean that it may take years to recoop further investment in your home.
If you are considering a renovation, check out the Cost versus Value Report, just published by Remodeling magazine. You can read about the average costs to complete a variety of jobs and the expected payoff, after the work is completed.
Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com. Have a great weekend and happy home selling!!
10 Repairs That Home Seller’s Must Fix Before They Can Sell
Listing a home with obvious, even if small, problems are one of the biggest mistakes sellers make. Buyers prefer problem-free houses and as a seller, your top priority must be to overcome any obstacles between you and the sale. Fixing stuff that’s broken and selling a home that appears to have been well maintained will often overcome any real or imagined problems a buyer will have. Conversely, not fixing problems sends a loud message that you don’t care enough about your home. And, don’t forget, the home inspector will not miss problems, even if the buyer didn’t see them.In today’s slow housing market, seller’s should fix anything that a home buyer would expect to be working on the day of the sale, including:
1. Odors and Smells: Obviously, a big turn off for buyer’s in any market, and often poses health concerns. Stinky houses don’t sell. Find the source of of your problem and remove it.
2. Appliances: All appliances advertised as a part of the sale should be clean and in working order, before your first showing.
3. Plumbing: If it leaks, drips or runs, fix it or replace it.
4. Windows/Doors: Repair or replace cracked panes or fogging windows. If windows are painted shut, fix them. Put WD 40 on any squeaks and creaks. Replace torn or missing screens.
5. Cabinets: Doors should open and close smoothly and quietly. Buy some sitck on pads at the hardward store to make your cabinets sound more solid, when the door is closed. Knobs or pulls should be tightened or replaced with updated hardware. Remember that Buyers will be opening every drawer, make sure they glide smoothly. Wipe all surfaces clean. Remove and replace old, dirty shelf paper and liners.
6. Paint: Is the biggest improvement you can make for the money. If paint is dingy, chipped or cracked, repaint. If your rooms or hallways look dark or uninviting, repaint in white or off white.
7. Wallpaper: If it’s peeling up in places along the seams or corners, use wallpaper glue and press it to the wall. Be sure to remove all bubbles. If your wallpaper is old, dated or unappealing, remove it and paint the walls white or off white.
8. Carpet: If the carpet is in good condition, clean it. If it is pulled up in places, tack it back down. If it is old, dated, or worse, it stinks, replace it with a nice neutral color. If replacing the carpet, also replace the padding. Use a thick padding to make the carpet feel more luxurious. If pet smells or odors are on the tack strips, replace those at the same time. If you have hardword floors covered by old carpeting, remove the carpet and show off those floors.
9. Lighting: Replace all burned-out light bulbs with the brightest wattage the fixture allows. If your fixtures are dated or don’t work properly, replace them.
10. Exterior: Clean and touch up the front entry and sidewalk. Add a splash of color with some inexpensive plants or a pumpkin at this time of year. Remove or trim over grown tree’s and shrubs, especially those that block the front of the house or sidewalk. Weed landscape beds, mow and edge the lawn. Repair missing or damaged fencing. Replace missing shingles. Clean out gutters and downspouts. If puddles or a wet basement is a problem, correct the drainage.
As you walk around your home, remember that savvy buyers will check every nook and cranny. How well things work and look says a lot about how you’ve taken care of the property. Make a good impression and it will go a long way toward getting your home sold quickly —and for more money.
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Why Not Install A Solar Water Heater?
If you don’t think that hot water is a hot topic, think again. The average electric water heater serving a family of four uses 6,400 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, releasing eight tons of CO2, according to the University of Wisconsin’s Solar Energy Laboratory. That’s more than a typical automobile! Gas-fired heaters release about two tons of CO2 a year.
Investing in a solar water heater is a simple and affordable way to save money on your utilities while helping to protect the environment. Solar water heaters are very reliable and can work in any climate. There are several different types, including those with pumps and those that work passively. You will need a storage tank and some type of solar collector. Some homeowners use the devices exclusively or sometimes with a gas or electric tankless water heater as a backup, while others pair them with other systems as pre-heaters.
You don’t have to go off the grid and the good news is that home solar water heating systems cost an affordable $1,500 to $3,500 and pay for themselves in four to eight years. If you are selling your home ” fsbo ” or advertising on the MLS, why not schedule one into your next renovation?
Shop for a solar water heater online at: solarhome.org and solarroofs.com
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How to Avoid the Shady Snakes of Spring
Spring is the time that most homeowners get to work and it’s also the time that shady contractors come of out the woodwork to prey on innocent homeowners. “Some are actual scam artists, while others are just incompetent or unethical,” say Ellis Levinson, a consumer reporter and the author of the book “Hiring Contractors Without Going Through Hell.”
The good news is that you can protect yourself against these scams. In fact, many scams are easy to detect if you take the time to become an educated, savvy consumer. You need to compare prices, call references and research the project in advance.
Here are some tips on how to smell a suspicious deal:
1. ‘I just happen to be working in your neighborhood’-reputable contractors work through referrals, not going door to door to attract customers.
2. ‘I have materials left over’-Good contractors order just enough suplies to meet the needs of each job, as often the price for supplies is included in the contract.
3. ‘I need cash upfront’-Don’t ever pay in full for a project before any work has been done. Never. Never. Never! Usually one-third is the industry average.
4. ‘I have a special offer that’s good for today only’-If a contractor is offering a “special deal,” ask him to legitimize what he is offering. You can ask for documentation of this bargain…a flyer, for example, that the contractor has mailed or delivered in the past.
5. ‘I can help you finance the project’-this could indicate a home-improvement loan scam, as the contractor may be getting kickbacks from the lender that he knows. Never finance through you contractor without shopping around and comparing loan terms.
6. ‘I want to use your home as a model’-the scam centers on the idea of using your home as a vehicle, or “show home,” to advertise their services for a hefty discount. Established contractors should have completed enough previous projects that they won’t need your job as a demo.
Still more scams-though any part of your home could be a target, many scams tend to center around driveways, roofs, chimneys and furnaces.
Beware, and remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
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WaterSense Label Identifies Green Fixtures
Look for the new label from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) called WaterSense, it addresses the need to be water smart as well as dollar smart. This program’s mission is to protect the future of the water supply by promoting water-efficient products and services.
You will find the label on a variety of plumbing equipment scheduled to roll out this year and next. WaterSense partners for high-efficiency plumbing equipment include some of the biggest manufacturers in the business- Kohler, Delta Faucet, Hansgrohe, American Standard and Crane. Kohler and its sister brand, Sterling, already have eight toilets that have earned the WaterSense label, meaning that they use at least 20% less water than standard toilets.
According to the EPA, the average American home uses more water for flushing the toilet than running the shower. A family of four could save 16,000 gallons of water a year by replacing a traditional toilet with a high-efficiency model. This is a big savings in dollars as well as droplets.
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Alternative Floors that Don’t Kill Trees
Environmental concerns are becoming increasingly important in consumers decision making process and bamboo flooring is a perfect choice for the environmentally conscious consumer according to expert Mark Western.
Bamboo is actually a grass. A harvested bamboo plantation can regenerate without replanting within 3 years whereas traditonal hardwood plantations can take up to 75 years to regenerate. Bamboo has been known to grow as much a 1 metre in 24 hours. It is often grown in areas which have been previously damaged by soil erosion, overgrazing and commercial agriculture and its extensive root system helps restore the stability of these areas and removes nitrogen, phosphorus and heavy metals from the soil. Bamboo is a sustainable resource.
Bamboo offers multiple benefits:
1. With bamboo flooring you can creat a stylish and homey environment-bamboo provides warmth like wood.
2. Bamboo works well with any decor- bamboo offers several design options because it has a very rich visual texture and a unique pattern. It is naturally blonde in color but some varieties are stained to provide different color choices. Example: Bamboo can undergo a smoking process to give it an amber hue.
3. Bamboo can be treated to prevent damage-most bamboo flooring is pre-finished and ready for installation. Maintenance is usually the same as pre-finished wood products, so be sure to follow manufacturer instructions.
4. Bamboo flooring offers unparalleled strength, durability and moisture resistance when compared to traditional hardwood floorings. It is ideal for kitchen areas where normal timber flooring is not recommended and does not wear as quickly as any other timber flooring.
For more information on alternative floorings check out Lumber Liquidators at www.lumberliquidators.com
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