MMA Update

By Guest Author Julie Lohmeier

The exterior of your home offers a first impression of your house and your style. Make the most of those initial seconds by maximizing your home’s curb appeal. This holds true whether you are selling your home or plan to live in it forever.

1) Clean up. The most important way to enhance your curb appeal is to clean up. Trim or remove overgrown bushes and shrubs. Eliminate all weeds. Cut the lawn. Spartan is better than messy. Repave or reseal your driveway. Fix anything that is broken. Power wash or paint stained concrete. (There are specially formulated paints for concrete.) And if a concrete stair or pad is sinking, have it raised or replace it. Make sure your roof is in good condition and that your brick mortar is well tuck pointed and your siding freshly painted. You wouldn’t want to meet people in dirty, torn clothes; don’t greet them with the housing equivalent.

2) Landscaping. Simple landscaping can go a long way. Arrange plants, trees, and shrubs in odd number groups using a variety of colors, heights, and textures. Be sure to leave room for growth. I’ve seen many a landscaping job look great for the first three years, only to be overgrown soon thereafter. If you know about perennials, plant those in a variety to provide blooms throughout the warmer months. If your knowledge of perennials starts and ends with hostas, planting annuals is as an excellent way to add color in spring and summer.

3) Shutters. I view windows as the eyes of your house. Shutters are a very easy way to make your home more welcoming. There are very few styles of homes that won’t benefit from shutters. They should be the height of your window from the sill to the top trim. When shutters were functional instead of decorative, they were to be half the width of the window so the pair would cover the entire window in bad weather. Now, just make sure the width is fairly proportionate to the window, and never less than 12″ wide. Your shutters can be any color but pick a scheme that complements your siding, brick, and trim. My personal favorite is deep hunter green, but black nearly always works. I prefer wooden shutters so you can paint them any color you wish, but if you get vinyl, be sure to replace them if the color begins to fade.

4) Door. If windows are your home’s eyes, then the door is the mouth. Make it inviting. Stained wood doors are most favored now in woods like cherry, mahogany, and even oak. Today you can get simulated wood doors made from fiberglass that look like wood from a distance, are very durable, and much less expensive. In many ways, I still prefer painted doors because of the endless possibilities of color for accent. You can paint the door the same color as your shutters, but I usually prefer a complementary color, often a shade of red - anywhere from burnt red brick to a deep red that’s almost plum. It all depends on your …

5) Color. A house with curb appeal has color. Several complementary colors. Most paint manufacturers offer groups of colors that work well together. This can give you some good ideas. I personally like to see siding, trim, shutters and doors in different colors. Typically I prefer the trim to be the lightest color with the shutters and doors providing the greatest accent. However, some houses are stunning when the trim is the most vibrant color. And with a “painted lady” Victorian style home, you can use several different colors all to accent various architectural features of the house.

6) Distinctive mailbox and numbers. Make a statement with your mailbox, especially if it’s on your house instead of the curb. These can get a bit pricey, but will really add appeal to your front elevation. Some single nail up address numbers will do the trick, but there are many more options these days. There are ceramic tile. Brass plates. Custom painted ceramic signs with flowers. Engraved stone if your house is stone or brick. When we were selling remodeled homes, our realtor always got us a custom painted ceramic address sign. It incorporated the colors of the house and added a truly charming element when people walked up to the front door. Have your mailbox and address welcome your visitors, not simply tell them this is the right house.

As you can see, there are six easy ways to enhance the curb appeal of your home. The key is to remember that the front of your house is typically the first thing visitors see. Make a good impression with a well maintained, landscaped home offering those little details and coordinating colors that add richness and luxury to your front elevation.

About the Author:

Julie Lohmeier is the veteran of numerous home remodeling and building projects. From working hands on and doing much of the work herself to hiring contractors and construction managers, she has seen the entire spectrum of home improvement. She shares her remodeling tips, home decorating ideas, and other various rants at http://www.myhomeredux.com. Sign up for her free email newsletter at: http://myhomeredux.typepad.com/blog/2005/09/get_my_home_red_2.html

Copyright © 2006, Julie Lohmeier, http://www.myhomeredux.com

Bob Roscoe, Mortgage Marketing Associates, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Home Sales Ideas

By Guest Author David Carter

No I’m not going to tell you to have coffee boiling away and bread a-baking in that homely oven, and soothing music drifting through the house. House buyers are not fooled by such things, they have come to carefully inspect your home, and if there are coffee fumes floating about or soothing music in their ears it isn’t going to make a hoot of difference. But some things might, things like these:

Firstly, pets must go! And I don’t just mean on the day of the viewing, I mean period, and the longer before the viewings begin the better. Dogs smell, cats smell, almost all pets smell, and just because you as the owner don’t notice it, you can take it from me the buyer will. The agent will too, and if they are worth their money they will tell you about it. Nothing puts off eager buyers more than the rancid smell of dead dog. This is a huge turnoff. So get ’em out.

Secondly, de-clutter. You have probably heard this one a thousands times, but so many sellers don’t pay any heed to this sensible advice. Take a mantelpiece over the fireplace for example. Many sellers have the shelf weighed down with countless artefacts and ornaments of every kind, so much so that the viewer can’t see the wood for the trees. Get rid of them all, except perhaps your three best pieces and arrange them tastefully so they are shown off to their finest. The viewer can then see them and appreciate them, and indeed imagine their own fine things in that exact same space.

Three: ask a realistic price. If an identical or even better home is on the market up the road for 200,000, then why waste everyone’s time by trying to sell yours for 225,000? Yet many people do, and then harass the agent when they don’t make a quick sale. Could you sell Ford cars for 10% more than Ford does? Probably not, so why are the poor old Real Estate guys and gals expected to do precisely that? If you really want to sell your property, you have to compete, and that includes competing on price.

Fourth, sort out the yard or garden, the outside of your property. You will be amazed at how many people spend fortunes on the inside of their homes but hopelessly neglect the outside. Spend a few hundred on it if you have to, but smarten it up. Do some painting, cut the grass, buy some tubs and shrubs, make it look inviting, it will cost you so little to do, yet this outside improvement produces results time and time again. It really does. Trust me. The viewers will notice and you might well hook them. First impressions count for a heck of a lot.

Fifth and last, and this one might surprise you. Don’t be there! What? You heard me, don’t be there when the prospective buyer comes round. Why? Because the buyer can have a good mooch around accompanied by the Real Estate guys of course, but they will feel more relaxed if an over zealous owner isn’t there peering over their shoulder at every turn. The buyer will spend much longer in the property if you are not there, believe me, and they are more likely to ask the agent for more information, which is a very good sign that they are really interested.

When you go and look at property yourself, don’t you feel better if you can scout around without the owners there? Of course you do, and so does everyone else. Lock your best things away if you have any doubts about security, remove them from the house if need be, but get out of there on viewing day. Make the estate agent earn their fees, you pay them enough moolah after all, so have them earn their keep by conducting accompanied viewings themselves. And there is another reason to not be there too. What might that be? If you are in attendance, the buyer can ask you difficult questions face to face. Putting you on the spot, tricky ones too, such as, are the neighbours noisy? If they are, and you say “no”, in front of a witness, and they buy the house, and the neighbours really are noisy, (it could even be the main reason for you wanting to move out!), the new buyers could have a legal case against you for misrepresentation.

But if you are honest and say “yes”, the chances are that the prospective buyer will grin politely, and once outside walk away at a rate of knots, you won’t see them for dust. There are many other tricky questions the potential buyer might ask you too, but they can’t do that if you are not there. Selling a house can be a complicated business and the lawyers and agents should be handling these tricky questions, not inexperienced house sellers such as you might be. So take my advice, and get out of there on viewings day, and you will certainly improve your chances of selling your house faster.

Best of luck to you anyway in your quest to find that buyer, and remember, as my friend Michael is fond of saying, “there is a butt for every seat”, and if you act on these suggestions you will improve the chances of finding your perfect buyer, and perhaps sooner than you might think.

David Carter’s latest published work is SPLAM! Successful Property Letting And Management. Splam! Contains over 240 pages of hints and tips on how to start your own property business on a limited budget, and how to successfully let residential property. You can view actual extracts from the book at http://www.splam.co.uk and order a download or a hard copy at this site, or you can go direct to the publishers at http://www.lulu.com/dc. He also runs a holiday cottage website where you can access over 7,000 holiday cottages, apartments and villas worldwide at http://www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk. Don’t you deserve a holiday? Well of course you do! You can contact David on any matter any time at supalife@aol.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Carter

Bob Roscoe, Mortgage Marketing Associates, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mortgage Marketing Associates

Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money

By Guest Author B Shelton

Selling your home may be the most daunting project that you’ll ever undertake! But did you know that these 10 steps to selling your home can add thousands of dollars to the selling price and save you headaches in the long run? You should have a checklist of things to do in preparation for selling your home-from the time you make that all important decision to the moment you sign your name on the dotted line. Here’s a ten step plan that will help selling your home go more smoothly.

Step One: Have Your Home Formally Inspected and Appraised By a Professional

Any Realtor will tell you that the key to selling your home is to offer it at the right price, and the best way to come up with that price is to get a professional to tell you what your house is worth. An initial home inspection will also help you determine what, if any, problems you will need to repair before your house is marketable.

Step Two: Readjust Your Thinking

The moment you decide to sell, you need to stop looking at your home as YOUR home. In other words, you’ll need to put aside your sentiments and emotions and see your home as a house - a piece of merchandise that you’re preparing for sale. Take a brutal, honest look at your home, inside and out, and make a note of anything that is less than perfect.

Step Three: Make Repairs and Improvements

The number one rule of thumb in doing work on your house is: improve when you buy, repair when you sell. In most cases, you won’t come anywhere near recovering the cost of any major improvements that you make just before you sell. This is the time to take care of those repairs that you’ve put off, such as fixing broken roof tiles, repairing gutters and trim, or taking care of that loose hinge that makes the shutter on the bedroom window hang crooked.

Step Four: Take Care of the Cosmetics

This is also the time to consider repainting, inside and out. You’ll get the biggest return on your investment on cosmetic improvements - a new paint job, new carpeting, or new landscaping.

Step Five: Decide If You’re Going to Sell Your Home Yourself, Or Hire a Realtor

There are definite pros and cons to either option. In general, if you need a quick sale, or if you don’t have the time to put into marketing your home yourself, a Realtor will likely be your best option. Realtors have the expertise to market your home to the right buyers, and the time to do it right. If, on the other hand, you have time to sell, or want to save the commission fee that you’d pay a Realtor, there are many options available to the sell-it-yourselfer.

Step Six: Do Some Market Research

Whether you’re selling your home on your own or contracting with a Realtor or real estate agent to sell for you, you should do a bit of market research. The price you list your home for will be the single most important factor in how quickly it sells, or if it sells at all. Find out how much similar homes in your neighborhood have sold for in recent weeks, and adjust your expectations accordingly. Remember, even if your home has been appraised far above the prevailing community prices, pricing it according to the appraisal rather than the neighborhood is a poor business decision. Buyers buy location as much as they do ‘house’.

Step Seven: Set the Stage

Depersonalize your house. Put away all personal memorabilia. Take family photos off the walls and mantelpieces and tuck knick-knacks away out of sight. After you’ve put away all your personal accents, take a look around. If it’s bare, perk things up with a few potted plants or ‘neutral’ accents. Remember, the more potential buyers can visualize the house as “theirs,” the better chance you’ll have for a sale.

Step Eight: Advertise Your House for Sale

If you’ve decided to sell on your own, you’ll need to advertise. Get your house listed in local ‘Home for Sale’ magazines, place ads in the local newspaper, put up a sign on your lawn and at the end of the street, and put your home up on the web on a sell-your-own-home site. See ( forsalebyowner.com ) as an example.

Step Nine: Hold an Open House

Open houses are a great way to have your house seen by many people at once. Plan a weekend open house when you first put your house on the market, and make sure that the Realtors in your area are aware of it so that they can bring their buyers to see your house.

Step Ten: Have Inspections Done Beforehand So That You Will Have All the Paperwork On Hand

While some buyers will still insist on having their own inspections done, many will be grateful to be spared the expense and time. It’s one more thing that can expedite the selling process once the offer is made.

It’s not impossible to have smooth transaction throughout the process of selling your home-it only takes a little planning and organization!

Brian Shelton makes it easy to sell your house fast. To claim your free report entitled “How To Sell Your House In 7 Days or Less”, visit the http://www.HouseSoldIn7Days.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=B_Shelton

50 Simple Steps You Can Take to Sell Your Home Faster and for More Money in Any Market

By Guest Author Jeanette Joy Fisher

Money spent updating your kitchen rewards you better than money spent on any other upgrades to your home. When it comes to kitchens, buyers continue to demand improvement in efficiency and style, and they love remodeled kitchens and new appliances.

Even if you home costs less than the newer homes in your area, buyers view the model homes and hold the ideal in mind while home shopping.

Newer homes place kitchens open to the family room and often have wide views of the outside. Newer homes also boast larger kitchens with more than one preparation area because cooking has become a social activity, and new homes often include a bar or buffet for entertaining. Cooks want to be in the middle of family activities so they can enjoy companionship.

Buyers look for a kitchen with large open areas that allow guests enough room to mingle, along with workspace for kids doing homework or even a small kitchen workspace for paying bills or making phone calls.

Present your kitchen as an organized, clutter-free, versatile space that will help your buyers feel they could be productive and happy working and interacting in the heart of their new home.

You don’t need to completely makeover your kitchen to sell your home. Packing and storing extra kitchen pots, pans, and utensils generates a more spacious presentation. You may also wish to invest in an attractive portable kitchen island to use as a prop for a kitchen with an open center and insufficient counter space.

Consider easy, low-cost changes that instantly upgrade a kitchen without major remodeling. These include the following ideas:

1.) Replace your faucet with a fancier model.
2.) Change your cabinet hardware.
3.) Paint cabinet faces.
4.) Replace or paint ugly laminate countertops. (Use Marine-grade paint.)
5.) Add warmth during cold seasons with a gorgeous rug next to the sink counter.

No matter your makeover budget, prepare your home for sale with little changes like clearing the countertops and adding new dish towels and a bowl of fruit can make your kitchen entice a buyer to say, “This is my new home.”

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

Jeanette Fisher teaches home sellers five ways to sell their homes for top dollar - fast. For free home selling Teleseminar, ebook, and information on home staging with Design Psychology visit sellfast.info

Bob Roscoe, Mortgage Marketing Associates, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Home Selling Ideas

Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money

Article by Guest Author Lee Dobbins

When selling your house “by owner” you don’t have the advantage of a real estate agent with tons of clients so you need to draw people to your house and one way is to have an open house. This will require some prep work and a bit of your time but can reel in potential buyers and get the word out about your home.

The best day for an open house is Sunday. This is the day most people spend with their families and are out and about running errands so zipping over to an open house is a nice break. It’s best to hold it during the day so people can see the house in daylight. Plan to have the open house for several hours - like noon to 4. Put an ad in the real estate section of the paper a week ahead of time and let it run all week.

Your ad should list the time for the open house, the address, some special amenities of the home like how many bedrooms or if it has a nice view, the asking price and a phone number where they can reach you.

Now you are ready to do some of the prep work to make your house irresistible to buyers. You should already have fixed up any broken or half finished projects around the house. Are there places where the paint is dingy? Then repaint. What about that half done molding in the dining room that has been like that so long that you are blind to it? Finish it, your buyers will notice anything and everything so you need to look at your house with a critical eye and remove anything that might be an obstacle to someone purchasing your home.

Go outside and look at your house from the street. Does it have curb appeal? This is the first impression your potential buyer will get so it pays to spruce up the outside. Make sure your landscaping is crisp and colorful and walkways and lighting work properly.

On the morning of the open house, you must make sure your house is spotless. Put away the dishes, make the beds, vacuum the rugs, clean the bathrooms and maybe even add some flowers and put on the coffee. Take notice of how your house smells - you want a nice aroma or fresh smell to hit buyers when they come into your home. Why not bake some cookies? It will make the house smell great and you’ll have some yummy treats to offer your guests.

For an open house, a clean home is a necessity. Although it is a good idea to stage your house or set up each room to fit its best potential, you will score more points with a spotless home. No one wants to buy a house that looks like it hasn’t been cared for.

Make sure each room has the appropriate lighting and if the showing is in the evening, turn on accents lights for ambiance. Enhane the look of each room and avoid having your guests fumble for the light switch by using table lamps. This will make your rooms look warmer than a glaring overhead light.

If you want to make your rooms look brighter and larger, try adding some mirrors. People want their homes to be bright and a mirror can reflect the light from a window or door.

Make sure you pick up all the clutter around the house. Outside, you need to store all childrens toys and bikes neatly in the garage or shed. Inside, pick up all toys and put away in cupboards remove all magnets and notes from the fridge and make sure there is no clutter around the tables or on the floors.

It’s a good idea to send the kids and pets away during the showing. You don’t want anything to distract your potential buyers from the beauty of your home.

Lee Dobbins writes for Moving and More where you can learn more about selling your house.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Dobbins

Bob Roscoe, Mortgage Marketing Associates, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mortgage Marketing Associates