FSBO Jane

When you’re looking to buy a home for the first time, it can be a scary process. There are a lot of variables to consider, from location to price to all the extra costs of taxes, etc.

I ran into an excellent article recently that examines 11 things to consider before leaping into a new purchase.

You can read the entire article here, and if you are looking to buy a new home, I definitely think you should!

A recent Mint.com article poses this question: Should you Buy a Home Right Now?

It then gives the pros and cons of making a purchase now -

PROS include (+) Current tax credits (+) Luxury of not *needing* one puts you in the drivers’ seat.

CONS include (-) Not knowing when the bottom has really come to the market (-) Possible decreased values.

I tend to lean towards the PROs right now, mainly because I see this as a great time to enter the market and take advantage of what’s been a discouraging situation for a lot of people. If you’re selling, you know it’s tough out there; but if you’re buying, you know there are deals to be had.

What do you think?

On recent walks through my neighborhood, I have observed the addition of enclosed porches and open patios to the backyard of fellow neighbors. Because I know that an outdoor retreat adds value to a home, and it constitutes a premium selling point, it doesn’t surprise me that more and more homeowners are opting to add new backyard retreats. What does surprise me, however, is how fast the job is completed!

Numerous times now, I have noticed a porch or patio completely installed within one day. On Monday, it wasn’t there. On Tuesday, it looked like it had been there forever. When I assisted a friend in constructing her new patio, it took us days! These one-day additions intrigued me, so I did some research. Here are my findings.

Ready-to-assemble kits are available, such as at sunporch.com, that include all of the materials you need, easy-to-follow directions and a maximum preparation time of one to two days. With this, however, you build an enclosure around a preexisting patio or deck.

At gazeboshowcase.com, you can purchase a portable gazebo that consists of four poles and a cover. Some include an enclosure option of screens or netting. Again, this doesn’t include a ground cover.

At portablepatio.com, they offer fold-out patios that you just unfold and place wherever you’d like to lounge in your yard. The patios are formed with two-foot square plastic tiles, and you choose how large you want it.

My research somewhat enlightened me on the possibilities that exist for an affordable, simple addition to the yard. Yet, I still feel like I’m missing something. Would anyone like to shed further light on this subject?

Are you a member of the current social networking craze?

If you keep up with news, chances are you know what I’m talkg about, even if you don’t have your own accounts. Twitter is the most updated source for onlineews. Facebook now advertises at major league baseball games. LinkedIn is one of the top 10 sites to search for a job. Myspace is the first place people go to find concert information. You might say we’re all living in a constantly updated whirlwind of social information.

Does this include real estate? According to this article from MSNBC, a large number of real estate agents now update the public on these sites, in order to find new customers and advertise their listings. While some agents only include professional real estate information, others make half of their content personal updates about their weekend activities or opinions on upcoming sporting events. They do this so that they don’t overwhelm their followers with real estate jargon.

Should you get involved with social networking? Say you’re trying to sell your house by owner. You could set up an account and update the public open house schedules, recent upgrades to the home, price changes, etc. You might just find a buyer this way. Then again, how will you find people to “follow” you on Twitter, or “befriend” on Facebook, when they don’t know who you are?

My advice: I have social networking sites (@fsbojane on Twitter and FSBO Jane on Facebook), and I find others who share in my real estate interests. You can search for people with similar interests too, and hope that this method stretches your notability.

By the way, as another plug for my favorite FSBO, I should say that Buy Owner advertises on Facebook and Twitter. They get their name out there and have an impressive following. So when people click on an interesting blog article to read via Twitter, for example, they might decide to search houses for sale after they read the article.

Social networking is today’s craze, and I feel that it’s a good idea to keep up with the time. What will come next?

When you’re selling your home, advertising matters! It’s the #1 way to draw potential buyers to your property, moving you on towards a successful sale. So when it comes to advertising, what do you need to know?

Simply put, photos matter.

Before a buyer has the chance to visit your home, the only way he or she will see it is through photos you post, whether online or in a brochure or somewhere else. If the pictures are bad, they will keep looking.

What can you do to make sure the photos showcase your home’s best features?

1. Choose color photos (and many of them).
2. Have professionals take them, if possible.
3. Couple the photos with virtual tours!

For photography value alone, I’ve been really pleased with the advertising provided by BuyOwner.com. Whatever you choose, though, make sure it involves the best photography available - it can make or break your sale!

Staging a home can seem especially daunting when the residence is spacious: more rooms to fill with furniture, more areas to decorate with accessories. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming, at least not according to Sabrina Soto of HGTV.

In this recent article, Soto gives practical tips for making the staging process a little simpler:

1. Give a room focus. In a master bedroom, Soto redesigned a master bedroom from a sitting area with haphazard furniture placement into a retreat-like space, simply by moving the bed in front of the windows, which she framed with curtains.

2. Give a room versatility. In a guest bedroom, bold wall colors were changed to soothing and warm hues that could accommodate a variety of decorating choices. This makes the room feel more like a guest room and less than a childish bedroom.

For more information, including photos, check out the original article at HGTV: Staging Ideas for Spacious Homes.

If you’ve dealt with any sort of real estate selling, buying, renting or financing, you’ve probably heard of the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act is a term that regularly floats around the real estate industry but isn’t always clearly explained.

According to realestatewords.com, the Fair Housing Act is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in housing based on a person’s race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status and national origin.

This not only deals with the process of selling, buying and financing real estate, but also with advertising and marketing real estate. If you advertise your home online or in a paper source, it too must follow the Fair Housing Act. Basically, when describing a house, the text must read neutral to any type of buyer.

For example: when describing the surroundings of a home, you can’t emphasize the schools or the playground down the street. This suggests that every homebuyer has children, which is untrue.

• Wrong: “Your children can safely enjoy walking to school and to the local playgrounds, and you can all enjoy walking to local shops and restaurants.”
• Right: Plenty of local attractions are within walking distance, including parks, shops and restaurants.

Another example: If there is an extra bedroom suite, a finished basement or a separate building on the property, it cannot be referred to as a mother-in-law suite or a teen suite. It must contain a neutral name, such as an extra suite or a guest suite.

• Wrong: Aside from the master suite, an extra bedroom suite is ideal for a growing teenager or a visiting mother-in-law!
• Right: Aside from the master suite, an extra bedroom suite provides ample potential to be used however you wish!

This allows all housing advertisements to be on an equal opportunity basis. If you are independently advertising your home, this is definitely something to keep in mind. If you use a professional real estate advertising company, they should follow these requirements for you.

If done right, your bedroom is more than just a place to pillow your head at night and catch up on sleep. It’s an oasis. A room where you can be comfortable, where you can escape from the pressures and responsibilities of the rest of life.

Did you realize there are ways to make the most of this tranquil space, turning it into not just a sleeping quarters but also a relaxing getaway?

Here are some tips:

1. Ditch the TV. And along with it, get rid of your computer, the radio, your treadmill and the set of barbells you like to pull out for workouts. All of those things have their place, but not in the bedroom.

2. Think neutral colors. Never underestimate the power of color! Warm creams and beiges should decorate the walls of your bedroom in order to make it an inviting, comfortable space.

3. Cover the windows. Something needs to keep light out on those mornings when you want to sleep in. Whether you go with easy-clean blinds or custom-made drapes, choose something that blocks the light out.

4. Declutter. An important aid in all rooms of a home—not just the bedroom—decluttering and organizing can make your bedroom seem more spacious, cleaner and more conducive to relaxation. Storage systems are an option, as are organizational tools. Focus on putting things away in usable order, with items needed regularly most accessible.

I really enjoyed this recent post over at the Buy Owner Blog, which details the results of overpricing a property.

I mean, we all know that pricing a home too high can leave it on the market longer. But have you also considered that overpricing your home can make your neighbor’s sell faster? It’s true! When your home is listed for $10K higher than the competition, particularly if it doesn’t offer the same amenities, you can be sure to be passed over.

Read the rest of the article here.

Which of your home’s rooms is your favorite?

Once you choose your favorite room, decide why. This can help you pinpoint your home’s best features!

Is this particular room the focal point of your floor plan? Is the most updated? Does it contain architectural or custom appeal? Is it the coziest? Once you know why you love it, flaunt it. Take lots of photographs. Stress the special features in writing. Point out and explain your love to a homebuyer. If that homebuyer visited 10 houses that day, he or she will remember that room, if not the entire house.

Also, ask others what their favorite rooms are. In a recent survey done by HGTV.com, 151 readers commented on which rooms are their favorites. The most common responses were the kitchen, the master suite and the screened porch. If you think your kitchen/suite/porch is pretty incredible, focus on it, knowing that others are interested! Need to upgrade your home, but not sure where to start? Upgrade one of these popular favorites for the best response.

To read all 151 responses from HGTV, click here.

So again, what room is your favorite, and why?