FSBO Jane

As most of you know, and from the title of my blog, I am an advocate of the “for sale by owner” model. I have had much success with the company Buy Owner who operates the web site buyowner.com. Recently I have been inundated with emails telling me that “my favorite FSBO is out of business.” Most of these emails are from real estate agents who forget I can Google their name and find out who they are. So it was time to get some answers.

The Daily Business Review posted an article indicating that Buy Owner’s assets had been turned over to Michael Moecker and Associates for liquidation. But, it also said that they were an Assignee for the Benefit of Creditors, also known as ABC. This is an alternative to bankruptcy. Now granted that Michael Moecker and Associates is known for liquidations, it seems they don’t plan on liquidating Buy Owner. How do I know this? Because the company is still running. You don’t run a company to liquidate it, you just liquidate it.

It seems that Buy Owner is still alive, although like most real estate companies in this market, they are struggling. But this is the time to thrive. Investors and flippers want to make as much money as they can, that makes FSBO the best possible was to sell a property.

Oh, and to all those people sending nasty emails to me, here’s more news. ForSaleByOwner.com IS part of the Tribune bankruptcy. Apparently it is going to be split off to some smaller entity. ByOwner.com is on auction. That’s right. The owner is auctioning off his assets but shows no financial statement indicating how much income the assets generate. To me, that seems a bit shaky.

I have to give Michael Mocker and Associates credit for seeing an opportunity here with Buy Owner. While the other two major FSBO’s are either in bankruptcy or bailing out in fear, they have decided to put time, effort, and money into keeping the last standing FSBO around. If I were in a position to do so, I would swoop in and scoop up all three companies and corner the entire FSBO market. But that’s just me.

This quick tip of mine is not my way of saying get rid of your air-conditioning unit altogether, turn on your fans, open your windows, strip down to your underwear, sweat to stay cool and live with it! Oh, and eat popsicles. No, we live in a society where using a/c is totally acceptable, probable and expected. Even the greenest, energy-saving leaders use air conditioning in their homes.

So when I say turn off the a/c, I mean turn it off while you’re not home. That’s a good place to start. When no one is home in your house (this only works for people without pets), set your programmable thermostat (a smart purchase) to turn off once you leave the house and to turn back on before you get home. If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, write yourself a reminder to turn it off manually before you leave. It won’t take long for your house to cool off once you return home and turn the a/c back on.

To take it one step further, this article from The Daily Green suggests you turn your thermostat off 10 minutes before you leave the house or five minutes before you get out of your car. This allows you to still enjoy a cool atmosphere that will not heat up while you remain indoors, and it’ll save more than 24 hours of a/c usage per year! Just a few minutes without a/c usage really add up to energy savings.

Why do we feel the need to live in outrageously oversized homes? Do we really need master suites with bathrooms the size of a hotel room? Do we really need a home with an office, a den, a workout room, a toy room, a media room, a living room and a family room? Do we really need 20-foot vaulted ceilings? Do we really need both dining rooms and table areas in the kitchen?

The simple answer is no. That’s why lots of people are choosing to downsize during this tough economic time. But how do you know how much of a downsize you can handle? You decide how much space you really need to survive. As it turns out, not much!

This article from the Mother Nature Network displays the 10 smallest houses in the world. Let me tell you, they are small. Tumbleweed Tiny House Company has been making houses as small as most people’s closets, but somehow they still encompass a workspace, a bedroom, a bathroom with a toilet and shower, a living space and an outdoor porch, not to mention architectural appeal! Micro Compact Homes measure out to about 266 centimeters cubed and somehow still include two double beds, a bathroom, a lobby, a dining space for up to five, a kitchen and modern entertainment technology. Rollit homes turn like a mouse on a wheel. When you walk in the center of the home, the home turns and reveals different uses, such as a bed, a chair, a table, a toilet or a kitchen sink. One guy even created a trailer home that connects to his bicycle and includes a solar oven and a heating unit. It doesn’t get more eco-friendly than that!

What does this prove? People around the world are finding ways to live comfortably in smaller spaces. No, it doesn’t mean that you need to make a change this extreme. But it does definitely give you something to think about.

It’s an age-old real estate dilemma: when choosing a new home, do you go for size—more bedrooms, greater square footage, a big backyard—or setting—in a good school district, near work, near friends?

For many homeowners, the answer involves compromise, even in today’s buyers’ market.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal pinpoints the issue by describing the story of a North Carolina couple faced with choosing between the house they wanted and the schools they wanted for their kids. In the end, Kiely and John Adams missed out on a compromise property that gave them some size in their desired location, due to complications with their own home “came up short on the appraisal.” Now they are staying put longer than expected, with their kids about to start a new school year.

The truth is, although not all home buyers look for locations with good schools, buying a home in a good school district is a smart investment. Why? Those areas hold their value better, even in tough markets.

In the past, I’ve shared ideas with you on how to decorate your house for the anxiously awaited Fourth of July weekend, complete with full-size American flags, little plastic American flags, tablecloths with American flags and even cookies with American flag frosting. This year, as to not repeat myself (though I still adore patriotic décor), I fortunately found this website that takes a completely different approach on decorating for the Fourth!

The website names eight different items that represent America, and it recommends that you decorate with these! So the question is what defines America in your eyes? Examples from the website include apple pie, vintage baseball items, military buttons and medals, stars, George Washington, postage stamps, the Declaration of Independence and American Folklore, such as Paul Bunyan and Yankee Doodle. Therefore, you could create throw pillows or placemats that look like postage stamps, put together shadow boxes with military gear, create a centerpiece of baseballs or a collage of baseball items, or frame a dollar bill with George Washington’s serious face looking out at you.

When I thought about what defines America for me, I considered putting together a collage of photographs that captured my most memorable moments. Selling my house FSBO would be in the collage, let me tell you! It was an accomplishment that I achieved because I have the freedom to achieve whatever I want! When I asked friends of mine what they consider “American,” I received answers like hamburgers, football, running through sprinklers, ice cream cones, briefcase, carnivals and fireworks. Everyone has their own ideas!

What are some of the items that you think define America, besides the forever cherished American flag? To read the whole article, visit Celebrating-fourthjuly.com.

If you live in the Chicagoland area, this post is especially for you. Even if you don’t, the beauty of the Internet is that you can globally witness an area attraction without traveling. This post is about my recent experience at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago.

Recently, on a long, adventurous walk to find the Space Center, halfway down the long corridor that displayed all of the planets in our solar system, I found myself staring out a window at a house. Literally, this house was just resting right on the museum’s grounds and looked as if someone lived there. Patio furniture was set up on a patio and deck, trees surrounded the house and even a garage was open and displayed a canoe hanging on the wall and a bike. I was intrigued.

As it turns out, this house is actually an exhibit called Smart Home: Green & Wired. It is a fully-functioning, eco-friendly home, winning the title as Chicago’s greenest home. Midwest Living created the home to show people how they can live luxuriously and beautifully while using the least amount of energy and minimizing maintenance. What kind of rooms are in the house? A master suite that looks more like a vacationing retreat, a home office, a nursery, a kitchen, a family room with a fireplace, a rooftop garden and more are all included! Everything is made out of sustainable materials and smart technology, and the house itself is modular home construction, which the tours talks about in detail. For $10, you can tour the home and find out all kinds of useful tips on how you can green up your home! Even my niece and nephew enjoyed touring what they referred to as the “pretty and really clean” house.

I don’t talk about green living as much as I should, since its popularity seems to be soaring. And rightly so! Instead of preaching anymore, I’ll turn you to the Buy Owner Blog’s Green Living articles. They’ve been writing these for years and can help you out with any green living question you have! This is where I go for all my green living tips and ideas, which are sure to increase after viewing this incredible exhibit at MSI.

When you’re selling your home, market value is a term that comes up pretty regularly. You want to determine a fair market value so you can list your property appropriately; you need to know what the market value of similar homes is; and so on.

So what is market value, anyway?
Essentially, market value is what a home is worth.

You can determine it in one of two ways:

1. Market value is what a seller is willing to pay, period. Because even a perceived home value means nothing when no buyer will pay it, many agree that a home is actually worth only what a buyer will actually pay.
2. Market value relates to what similar homes have been selling for, in the last six months. The two key terms here are similar homes—homes around the same size and with about the same type of amenities—and last six months—because the market is always changing due to all kinds of outside factors, you have to look at the immediate selling past.

For more information on market value, check out this article, “How to be realistic about price.”

There are plenty of ways for you to cool your house and reduce your air-conditioning usage at the same time. Close your drapes when the sun is blaring through a particular window. Turn your ceiling fans on, which use very little energy. Plant trees near your windows to provide your house with shade. Cover your air-conditioning unit and keep it as cool as possible. But when it comes down to reducing air-conditioning usage, an article from HomeTips.com states that insulating the attic is the number one energy-saving, cooling upgrade you could make, and it comes at a low cost.

Choose the insulation that is right for your particular attic setup, such as batt or loose-fill. Also include caulking and weather-stripping to prevent air leaks. The quickest step you could take is to staple a foil radiant barrier to the attic roof between the rafters. When choosing insulation, make sure you choose a type that includes a rating suitable for your weather conditions. For mild conditions, choose R-19, for moderate climates, R-30, and for intense weather, from R-38 up to R-49.

For more information on attic insulation, visit the Department of Energy’s website here.

If you’ve ever felt more passionate about your home’s appearance than your own, Meghan Daum’s book, “Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House” will be easy to relate to.

Called “by turns disarming and tedious” by Publisher’s Weekly, Daum’s book chronicles her personal moves across the USA, from NYC to Nebraska to California, and the way those moves revealed her own understanding of self.

I have not read the book, but I find its premise intriguing. I’ve long thought our homes define us, especially as women. We want to nest, to cultivate, to take care of our little space—we feel people judge us by our homes, and we want to be judged well.

If any of you have read the book, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

A recent article at MarketWatch.com points out that as the tax credit ends, some sellers are taking notice. In order to compensate for the credit buyers could have previously gotten, these sellers are lowering their listing prices.

This way, buyers benefit from a lower price with or without the credit!

Now that’s what I call savvy selling!

from the article: “The expiration of the credit could be prompting home sellers to slash prices: 22% of listings on the market as of May 1 experienced at least one price reduction — that’s a 10% increase from the previous month, according to data from Trulia.com.”

Wondering what this means for you?
• Sellers: Take note! Now is the time to rethink your home price. Buyers won’t have the tax credit working in their favor, so you need to ask yourself how you can woo them in! Can you lower your price? Other sellers will be. Think about it!
• Buyers: Take heart! Even without the tax credit being available, you are still benefiting from it. Pay attention to FSBO listings you’ve been watching, and look for lowering prices. At least some sellers are getting more aggressive, and you could reap the benefits!