FSBO Jane

Here’s a bit of optimism to get you through the last few days of 2009 and the beginning of 2010. What does the end of a year mean for real estate? Well, this year, it means that the economy hasn’t recovered and that we’re still experiencing a housing market slump. However, if you put off purchasing a home until the end of this year, according to an article from Move.com, you are not just a procrastinator! You are enjoying end-of-the-year purchasing perks that others may not know about!

Perks mentioned include an array of tax savings, anxious sellers willing to lower their prices, builders’ incentives, and easier booking with moving companies, just to name a few. To read the entire article, click here.

Too late to take advantage of these perks this year? There’s always next year, so get cracking on searching for your new home now!

What is a 401k?

A 401k is a retirement plan. When you work, you set aside a contribution (the amount is chosen by you) to be deducted from your paycheck each pay period. The money is taken out before taxes, so the investment that grows in the 401k account is not taxed until withdrawal. A 401k is often sponsored by employers who will “match” your contribution; however, an employer is not required to do this.

How much can I set aside?

Generally, you can set aside up to $15,000 or 100% compensation if your salary is less than $15,000.

How can I invest in real estate using my 401k?

You don’t actually invest your 401k money in a property. You would take a loan out against the 401k. This is a risky procedure and should not be considered lightly. However, if you do decide to go through with it, here is what you need to know:

• You are allowed borrow up to 50% of your 401k, up to $50,000.
• The loan must be paid back after five years, but this time frame may be extended for a home purchase.
• If you don’t want to take a big chance on purchasing a $200,000+ home, you could still invest in a trust.

o Companies buy and sell real estate by collecting a pool of investments (your money, another person’s and so on). It’s a safer investment, but it is still risky.

When can I start investing?

If you are taking out a loan, there is no age requirement. However, keep in mind that, unless you retire at the age of 55, you may be fined a 10% penalty if you withdraw any and all 401k money before the age of 59 ½.

Your 401k money is yours to spend. Real estate investing could be lucrative, but be sure to do your homework. Look at the market, and don’t try to spend more than you can afford, especially if you are taking out a loan against your 401k.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this post and throughout FSBOJane.com is for information purposes only and does not substitute for the advice of a financial professional.

FSBOJane.com does not hold itself out as providing any legal, financial or other advice. This site also does not make any recommendation or endorsement as to any investment, advisor or other service or product or to any material submitted by third parties or linked to this website. FSBOJane.com does not offer any advice regarding the nature, potential value or suitability of any particular investment, security or investment strategy.

Whether you bought a new house or you are redecorating your existing property, are you stuck for ideas? Have you painted every wall, replaced every floor covering and changed all your window treatments? Have you considered mirrors?

Mirrors are not just for the bathroom or the bedroom or for us to enjoy our reflection. They can be used to enhance various rooms in your home in several different ways.

Hallway

A mirrored closet door adds depth to a narrow hallway.

Create a makeshift “skylight” by installing a mirrored ceiling atop your interior walkway. The surface will catch light from a nearby living room, dining room or kitchen.

Living Room/Family Room/Dining Room

A mirrored wall in a small living room will make the space appear larger. The same goes for focal points in the room. Flank a fireplace with two floor-to-ceiling skinny mirrors, and your fireplace will seem like the grandiose feature of the whole house!

Instead of putting lamps all around the room, place a mirrored screen in one of the dark corners. The screen will reflect the light of a lamp from across the room, allowing you to save on energy costs.

Kitchen

Mirror accents on a tile or mosaic backsplash give your walls a reflective surface that makes your kitchen sparkle.

Cabinetry with see-through doors and mirrored backs allow guests to see a complete 360-degree view of decorative dishware or collectibles.

Basement

If you haven’t tackled this room yet, you may want to consider putting up mirrors to hide blemishes on the wall. Instead of spending a pretty penny on painting and refinishing that part of the wall, add a mirror to hide the flaw.

Many of us are in the midst of celebrating the special holidays with our family and friends. Soon, 2009 will end, and 2010 is right around the corner. This time of year always makes me sentimental. I tend to make a habit of sitting down with a mug of hot chocolate and making a list of what I’m most proud of accomplishing each year. The list I will never forget creating is the year that I sold my house FSBO and moved into a new place to make my own. What an accomplishment!

If you can’t write that on your list this year, don’t worry. There’s always next year. At the end of 2010, you can check off buying and/or selling FSBO on your list, and you can feel just as great about it as I did! As a past user of Buy Owner, my advice is to let them help you through the process. I’m telling you, using this company will help you accomplish your goals with so much less stress than if you were to do it any other way.

Why? Because they hand you all the tools you need to accomplish your goals on your own, and for free. You can search thousands of houses on their website, you can choose exact features that you want to search for in a house, you can work at your own pace, and you can obtain tons of free information on everything you need to know in the process of buying and selling your home FSBO by reading their Buy Owner Blog. The articles are split into categories, such as Buying Tips and Selling Tips, to make is easier for you to find exactly what you’re looking for. Seriously, this blog is a godsend.

Happy Holidays!

What do all of these have in common?

• Seaside homes in the Hamptons.
• Mansions in the Hollywood Hills.
• Humble abodes in wine country.

They’re vacation homes. They’re trophy homes. They’ve been recession-proof.

Although a good number of homes across the U.S. fell privy to foreclosure proceedings and their sales prices fell short of market value in the last few years, there are plenty of places that will always sell. And why is that? They are always in high demand.

Most of the properties situated in a New Yorker’s favorite getaway, a star’s preferred LA neighborhood or a West Coaster’s ideal summer spot are not used for permanent residence. These homes are a luxury, which means that the current owners (and future owners to come) can afford to pay a lot of money for these pricey pads.

It is obvious what makes these abodes vacation homes, but what gives them a “trophy” status? The Hamptons, the Hollywood Hills and places like Martha’s Vineyard have long been associated with America’s elite… the money makers. The neighborhoods are a sort of Who’s Who of well-to-do celebrities, socialites, doctors, lawyers and the like. How many times have you seen a character in a TV show or a film just dying to take a trip to one of these fancy spots?

Aside from wanting a place where they can enjoy a little getaway from the stresses of everyday life, many owners of these luxury properties are also benefiting from renting them out when they’re not using them. Someone out there is going to travel, and if you’ve got a place in any one of these popular destinations, you’ll most likely make bank on visitors coming in each weekend, or even for a week at a time. Foreigners from Europe and Asia are also coming over and purchasing homes in these “exotic,” sought-after locations to capitalize on the endless money-making opportunities.

I’ve always said you should invest in a vacation home. But do you think you would spend the money just for the elite status of being located in one of these hot spots? I think I’d prefer to own a country cottage on Lake Michigan somewhere. A heck of a lot cheaper!

One of the many differences in selling your home FSBO (for sale by owner) is that you are solely responsible for impressing potential home buyers that come to view your house. Since you don’t have an agent to constantly remind you of what you should do before buyers come over, here is an open house checklist, courtesy of RealEstateABC.com, to keep in mind.

1. During the day, open all the blinds and allow natural light to stream in. In windowless rooms or rooms where natural light doesn’t do enough justice, turn on the light. If it’s a cloudy day, turn on all the lights. At night, turn on the lights inside and out. Lights make a room appear homey and lived in, and turning on lights proves that you have nothing to hide.
2. Lighting a bunch of candles or spraying fragrances before potential homebuyers show up will make it seem like you’re trying to hide a nasty smell. Not to mention that you could overdue it and trigger a person’s allergies. Instead, light just one candle, or use freshly baked cookies or freshly brewed coffee as an aroma.
3. Plan ahead with your pets. If you’re leaving while your home is being shown, take your non-caged pets with you in the car. If you are remaining home, designate an area of your backyard for your dog, and designate one room of your house for your cat. These areas should be easily and quickly accessible for surprise visits. Clean litter pans and cages regularly, and provide a designated place to store toys. Owners with pets should even sweep, dust and mop more often, so that potential homebuyers with allergies aren’t miserable while viewing your home.
4. Empty out the trash more often. Depending on how much trash you acquire, every other day should be sufficient. If your kitchen or bathroom garbage doesn’t have a top, change those everyday. A clean garbage bin will decrease odors, and it will not distract buyers from what is important.
5. Make it a habit to clean up after yourself. Wash dishes right away, and don’t leave any dishes around the house. Make your beds. Put away toys in bins. Designate an area for the TV remotes. Put away video games. Keep shoes in a box and coats in a closet or on a coat rack. Don’t allow any object to look scattered or misplaced. The buyer will notice it, even if it’s second nature to you.

For more ideas, here are some articles that give great open house tips!

• Top 10 Home Staging Tips
• 101 Tips for Selling Your Home
• Top 5 Mistakes Sellers Make When Showing Homes.

Reduce, reuse and recycle: these are popular words in today’s greener businesses and lifestyles. Of these three, reusing is really the easiest advice to follow. If saving the environment isn’t enough of a reason to reuse, saving money surely is.

An immensely helpful article from thegreenestdollar.com offers ideas for household items you can reuse to save money. Here are the most helpful ideas from the list:

• Cut the legs off a pair of blue jeans, stuff them with plastic bags, tie each end, and use as draft dodgers! Place them by the bottom of a door and save energy costs by stopping drafts from sneaking in.

• Sprinkle coffee grounds in your gardens or flower pots inside or outside. They hold moisture and add extra nutrients to your soil! Also, use an empty coffee container to compost in. No odor will escape through the can.

• Gather up all your new and used pens and pencils, and stick them in a cup to place on a desk. This will create a clean office atmosphere, and it will save you time when you need a pen.

• Show off your green thumb with an egg carton! Each egg hole can be used to plant a seed. Use seeds from flowers, plants, fruits, vegetables, anything! Some will survive, some won’t. Replant the survivors once the hole is too small.

• We’re using lots of sanitizer wipes right now to kill germs. When the wipes run out, refill the container with tissues, string, or anything that could easily fit through the slit at the top. Or, just use it for toy storage.

For additional ideas on how to reuse household items, read the article in its entirety here.

As its name suggests, a quitclaim deed is a document that removes claim on jointly held a piece real estate from both parties and places it on just one of those individuals. Essentially, the person giving up rights to the property is called the grantor, and he/she is giving up his/her interest in the property to the other homeowner (the grantee, and soon to be sole owner of the property).

Quitclaim deeds are by lots of people involved in various relationships.

• Family members may use a quitclaim deed to gift a piece of property (parent to a child) or as a way of keeping a home in the family after a loved one has passed away.

• Business partners may use a quitclaim to turn a residential property into a business or because one of them is leaving the business.

• The most common use for a quitclaim deed, however, is among divorcees. Here’s the situation: A husband and wife own a home together. One person eliminates his/her rights to the property by granting full ownership rights to the other party. So, for example, if the wife owned the home after the divorce, but enacted a quitclaim to give the home to the husband, she would not be entitled any money from a future sale of the home (and vice versa).

However, a grantee can never assume that a property his or hers outright. If other interested grantors (especially in collective situations with families or business partners) have not signed the quitclaim deed, there may still be joint ownership on said property.

Also, the actual information in quitclaim deeds can vary. For example, in that husband/wife divorce situation, the wife could have relinquished her rights to the house, but there could be a stipulation that she receive some percentage of the profits if the home is ever sold.

Best case scenario? Always read the fine print and never assume anything. Ask questions if you don’t understand.

When selling a home, you’re most likely going to want to sell some of your items before the move. Even if you aren’t downsizing, we all tend to collect clutter that we don’t want to pack up and take with us. What type of sale should you host?

There are more types of sales than you’d think. At least, there are more than I ever realized. I used to be a huge garage sale junkie. My old neighbor and I would spend Saturday mornings driving around and searching for the best garage sales in our area. So for me, that’s the type of sale I know most about. But aside from garage sales, you could host a yard sale, an estate sale, or an auction.

To help others who are unaware that there are so many options, like me, the Buy Owner Blog does a good job at explaining the differences between all these types of sales. If you’re looking to host a sale of some sort, here is the rundown on your options:

• Garage sales and yard sales are similar. These are great for miscellaneous items that you have cluttering your closets or basement. These could include clothes that you’ve grown out of, old shoes, games, books, bikes. Anything goes. A garage sale is usually held in the garage and driveway, and a yard sale is held in the yard, outdoors. Where you host your sale could depend on the weather in your area. Check out this article for more information.
• An estate sale is a sale on a larger level. These are usually held when a family member or friend dies, and you are left with his or her possessions to sell. A professional usually runs the sale, does all the work, and keeps part of the profit. In estate sales, everything goes, so some stuff might be sold for dirt cheap or even for free! For more information, check out this article.
• An auction is also held on a larger scale, and this is usually run by a professional auctioneer. A time and place is set up for the auction, it is advertised, and people come and bid on items that interest them. The highest bidder wins each item. Auctions can also be hosted by phone or through the Internet. For more information on auctions, read this here.

Hopefully you benefit as much as I did from these articles, so that when it’s time for you to host a sale, you know what type will score you the highest profit!

Winter is coming! It has even arrived early in some places like Colorado and Maryland, dumping quite a bit of snow on the ground even back in October. But what should you do when Mother Nature drops a nice sheet of ice on your driveway and sidewalks before she blankets them with snow? There are a lot of options. Some are better than others, some are less expensive. Either way, know that you can and will melt that ice quickly and efficiently.

Rock Salt

This is probably the most tried-and-true method of melting ice off of your driveway. It’s the least expensive option and it dissolves the ice rather quickly. However, it can be damaging to your driveway, whether it is composed of asphalt or concrete. Repeated use of rock salt each winter will slowly eat away at the pavement, creating cracks and potholes. And if you ever plan on moving, this will decrease the value of your property.

Isopropyl Alcohol

Still inexpensive and a little less harsh on your driveway, isopropyl alcohol also does the trick. Remember to read labels, as any bottle that is watered down won’t really work for melting the ice. You can buy it in large quantities (quarts or gallons) and store it out in the garage, as its freezing point is -120 F.

Other

Some people have tried a lot of different products, including fertilizer, calcium chloride and cinder (coupled with rock salt). All of these methods have worked, but some are little on the pricey side. Everything depends on whether or not you want to keep your driveway (and even your lawn… in the long run) in the most pristine condition possible.