It's April ~ Rainy Day Home Maintenance ~

10 Things to Do When April Showers Are Falling

1.  Watch the Waterworks ~ Check the state of your gutters by safely observing their function during a steady rain.  Are the gutters properly connected and functioning?  When water leaves the downspouts, where does it go?  Check to see that the grade is directed away from the foundation, properly sending water away from the home.

2.  Address Indoor Safety ~ Too damp to work safely outside?  Turn your attention to keeping the interior of your home safe and secure.  Test smoke detectors, alarms, and carbon monoxide meters for proper function and replace batteries.

3.  Clean Dryer Vents ~ Did you know that fires can occur when lint builds up in a dryer or in the exhaust duct?  Lint can block the flow of air, cause excessive heat build-up, and result in a fire in some dryers.  So, clean behind the dryer, where lint can build up, and disconnect the duct to remove any build-up.  Be sure to reconnect the ducting to the dryer and outside vent before using the dryer again!

4.  Look for Leaks ~ A rainy day is a great time to look for leaks and areas where your home needs protection from water penetration.  Look for water drips or water stains in the attic.  If you locate a water drop, trace it to its source.  Also, look carefully to be sure you cannot see daylight anywhere through your roof.  repair as necessary.

5.  Fix Drips ~ The only droplets you should hear today are outside your home.  Check faucets and valves for drips or leaks.  Replace washers in dripping faucets and address other leaks as necessary.

6.  Check Grout and Caulk ~ One way to extend the life of your bathroom is to regularly check tile joints, tub grout and caulking.  replace and repair the areas as necessary.  Consider replacing old caulk with mildew resistant caulk.

7.  Maintain your Refrigerator ~ Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight.  Test them by closing the door over a dollar bill.  If you can pull the bill out easily, the latch may need to be adjusted or the seal may need to be replaced.  In addition, if you have a coil-back refrigerator, vacuum the coils at least twice each year.  Your refrigerator will run more efficiently with clean coils.  And, stock up!  A full refrigerator uses less energy than an empty one.

8.  Get Organized ~ Locate all appliance manuals, review the warranties and note the suggested maintenance.  Take the day to address some of those items or to come up with a maintenance schedule.

9.  Take Inventory ~ In the event of a fire of other disaster, an itemized list of your valuable belongings will be vital.  Try inventory software.  It makes it easy to update your list over time and many will allow you to store your information online for safe keeping.

10.  Test GFCI Outlets ~ Do you know if your ground fault circuit interrupter outlets are functioning properly?  Press the "Test" button and that should cut the power to any device that is plugged into the outlet receptacle and any additional outlet receptacles that are wired downstream on the same circuit.  When you press the "Reset" button the power should be restored.

Curb Appeal

Even in hot housing markets, the old saw holds true:  "If people drive by your home and are not impressed they're not going to walk inside."

If you're going to spend money on a property, I would really work on making sure the curb appeal is strong.  Adding a front porch to create interest to the exterior of a flat house for instance.  "You really want to convey a sense of Welcome."   "If all your remodeling is on the inside but the outside of the house is challenging, you'll never have a chance to even show the inside."

Curb appeal is a major reason that siding replacement ranks so highly on the Cost ve. Value report.  Replacement siding also offers the added calue of being low maintenance, and important issue for cost-conscious buyers.

 

Which Home Improvements Pay Off?

In the first year my husband and I lived in our house, we spent almost $20,000 on home improvements.  When we set that money aside at the beginning of the year, we dreamed about granite counters and steam showers; what we ended up with was a new furnace, new gutters, a drainage system to keep the basement dry, new landscaping and lots of new paint.  At the end of that year as I wiped down my tacky Formica countertops and bathed in my 1950s seafoam green tub, I wondered if we had spent that money wisely.  If we had put our house up for sale, would potential buyers have really cared about the dry basement and reliable furnace?

After talking to a slew of Realtors, contractors and architects, the consensus was yes. "If the roof is leaking, buyers won't get beyond that.  I don't care how awesome the kitchen is."

You're less likely to recoup your investment in a major kitchen or bathroom remodel than you are to get back what you spend on basic home maintenance such as new siding.  Siding replacement recouped 92.8 percent of its cost, according to the study.  The only home improvement likely to return more at resale was a minor (roughly $15,000) kitchen remodel, which returned 92.9 percent.  Replacing roofs and windows were also high on the list, returning 80 percent or more at resale.

"Buyers want to take the basic systems for granted."  "They assume the roof doesn't leak and the air conditioning and plumbing work."  Maintenance can chew up a lot of cash quickly, and people are afraid of that.

That's not to say that granite counters and steam showers don't pay off; kitchen and bathroom remodels continue to be two of the best investments you can make in your house. "They're always right up there at the top of the list,"  "They're the big, sexy rooms that new home builders splurge on, so when buyers are shopping around that's what they want in an existing home, too."

If you're thinking about sinking some money into home improvement projects this year, keep a few things in mind.  What you'll get back on your investment depends on the value of your house, the value of houses in your immediate neighborhood, the housing market where you live, how soon you sell after making improvements, and the quality of the project itself.  Installing a $10,000 stove in a $200,000 house, for example, "just doesn't compute."  Nor does it make sense to update your kitchen if your house is the only house in the neighborhood with just one bathroom.  Here, the scoop on home improvements that will give you the biggest bang for your buck.

In the hottest housing markets, springing for a kitchen or bath remodel is a sure-fire investment, often returning more than 100 percent of the cost.

Kitchens and baths are the areas in a home "where you can tell if money has been well spent or not."  "They're the most expensive areas of the home in terms of construction.  And they're where people spend time in their homes."

So exactly what should you improve when you redo your kitchen or bathroom?  Think traditional:  all-wood cabinets, commercial-look appliances, natural wood or stone floors, and stone countertops.  Walk-in showers have replaced whirlpool tubs as the must-have cleaning machine in bathrooms.  "Forgo the tub to have a big walk-in shower" If they don't have room for both "Most people don't have time to take a bath."  "So a lot of time you're giving away all that square footage for a tub that rarely gets used."  Floor-to-ceiling steam showers are also hot (so to speak).  Two key points to consider, however. First, don't spend money remodeling the bathroom if it's the only one you've got.  Your money is better spent adding a second bath.  Many people love "the charm of older homes."  So if you've got a four-bedroom, one-bath home, it's certainly going to pay to add a second bathroom.  Adding a bathroom increased the sale price of a home by 8.7 percent, more than twice the rate for adding a bedroom.

Staging Ideas for the Cooler Months Ahead

3 Great Staging Ideas for the Cooler Months Ahead

On December 3, 2012, in Staging Tips, by Melissa Tracey ....More Sharing ServicesShare
Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on printWhen trying to sell a home during the cooler months, it’s important to warm up the interiors and give the home a “homey” cozy look, agents say.

AOL Real Estate recently highlighted some tips for warming up your listings this fall and winter. Here are a few ideas:
1. Offer up some cozy smells: “We take some big old pots and dump cider in them, then warm it up and the whole house smells good,” Idaho real estate professional Gail Hartnett told AOL Real Estate. “It’s just a warm, homey smell that makes people feel good when they enter.”

2. Leave a few leaves: Keep the home’s lawn tidy but don’t sweat picking up every single leaf. “Leaves actually look nice as long as they have some color to them,” Harnett says. “But you need to make sure that your walkways are swept clear for safety purposes.”

3. Display photos from warmer days: Display spring and summer photos of the home’s exterior online as well as have photos at the home during showings. This will allow potential buyers to see what the beautiful flower beds and garden around your property looks on warmer days.

Real Estate Q & A > Making Offers & Related Issues

Is there a percentage a seller will mark up the price of a home? For example, if the asking price is $114,000 is an initial offer of $95,000 too low?


Although you can always offer whatever you want, yes, $95,000 is generally too low too offer for a home priced at $114,000.

It's like buying a car. You want to dicker with the salesman a little, but there is more room to dicker on a more expensive car than if you were going in and buying the least expensive car.

Sellers usually mark up the price a little because they realize most buyers aren't going to make a full price offer (though in different markets you can get offers ABOVE the listing price). In your example above, you were offering almost 15% below the listing price. They don't mark it up that much, just a few percent.

Before you make an offer, get your Realtor to go over the comparable sales of other similar homes in the same neighborhood. That is the same data the seller looked at when he priced his house, too. Make certain allowance for whether houses are selling briskly or slowly, and make an offer based on that data.

Note: When you look at comparable sales, you don't know for sure if the seller paid closing costs for the buyer or provided some other financing incentive, so keep that in mind.

I am looking at putting an offer in on a house listed for $134,900. The house is vacant and I believe it has been on the market for over 6 months. My realtor is saying is should bid 134,00 with the seller paying my closing cost and paying for a 2/1 buy down. I want to try and offer less. What do you think?

Your closing costs should be approximately $4000 or so (depending on what type loan you get, how many points, etc.). The 2/1 buydown (assuming it is an annual buydown) will cost the seller about $4000, too. By paying for these costs, if you offer a price of $134,000, the seller is netting the same as he would on if he accepted an offer of $126,000 and paid no costs.

If you think the house is worth less that $126,000, then make a lower offer. If you think it is worth more than $126,000, then you would be getting a deal with your Realtor's suggestion.

Your Realtor provides advice. You decide what to offer based on that advice.

If you make an offer on a house and the owner comes back with a counter offer and you agree to it can the owner still change his mind and sell to someone else?

A seller is free to withdraw the counter-offer any time prior to your acceptance of it. The communication method for acceptance is usually described in the contract. If your acceptance was communicated to the seller in the method required by the contract (prior to the seller withdrawing the offer), the seller should honor the contract with you and not entertain other offers.

But people don't always do what they should.

The problem then becomes whether you try to enforce your contract or not, which requires legal advice and expenses. For that, you have to consult an attorney.

Although you could probably technically enforce the contract, you have to reach a decision on whether it makes sense to expend the time and money to do so. Or does it make more sense to realize the seller is unethical and just move on to buy something different?

Can you negotiate when making an offer on a new home?

Making an offer on new construction is not the same as making an offer on a resale. Most of the time, the margin for profit is so small on new construction (per unit) that there is basically little or no negotiating. You can try, of course, because "everything in real estate is negotiable," but do not expect too much.

Can you negotiate the price of a bank owned home

Everything in real estate is negotiable. However, banks are more sophisticated about pricing than they were years ago. So those "Get a great deal on a foreclosure!" days aren't what they used to be. Lowball offers generally don't go very far.