Archive for the 'For Homeowners' Category
4 Ways To Guarantee That Your Home Doesn’t Sale
March 13th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners, Sellers
On the first date, you have 1 objective (most of you). To get the second second date.
There are some obvious things you would not do on the first date. Things like talking about how much you loved your X, sharing with your date your gas or snoring problem, open the door only for yourself, or point to and start laughing about a small piece of food on the other persons face. You may decide that you do not want another date with this person. However, when it comes to selling your home, you probably don’t care who buys it. As long as it gets sold.
Since you want your house sold, there are some things that you should never do. In fact if you do them, there is a good chance that you will not be getting another date/showing of your house.
Here are 4 ways to guarantee that your home will not be sold:
4. Smoke inside of your home or cook Curry with the windows down on a continual basis. It will not matter how nice your home shows if it smells so bad that people cannot think normally. I have had clients overlook homes that show better than others because of strong odors and the work it will require to get rid of the smell.
3. Try selling your home with filthy or rude tenants living there. This is a tough one. It is hard to force a tenant to live as if they are selling thier own home. I had a listing once where the tenant would leave the house with his hair all over the bathroom, clothes everywhere… you get the point. I actually feel that it is best to wait until they move out to put the home on the market. Remember, the longer it sits with dirty tenants the more “days on market” it shows and the lower your price will go. It’s better to pay the mortgage for a couple of months with no one living there if possible.
2. Leave the house with all of the lights off and windows shut. Listen, there are a couple of things that owners can’t change easily when they buy. One of them is SPACE. If you have it- show it. Dark homes look smaller. If you know someone is coming to your house to view it, do yourself a favor and turn ALL of the lights on. If it is day time, also open ALL the blinds. People like brightness and it will make your home appear more spacious.
DRUM ROLL……. AND THE NUMBER ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO KILL YOUR CHANCE OF SELLING YOUR HOME IS……
1. Stay home while it is being shown to give a tour. Listen. We know you like YOUR house. But you being at home while a Realtor is showing it to their clients will only cause the buyer to feel VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. Buyers don’t care what you did to your house on their first visit. If you want them to see something new you put in, put a sign on it. Buyers need to feel like they can go through your closets, cabinets, etc… Remember, you want to get rid of the home. Who cares if they go through your stuff? Would you want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and not be able to know the details of what you are buying?
So…. Do not give tours. Leave. If you have a baby asleep… then let the Realtor know ahead of time and stay with the baby. Worse case scenario… Go for a walk outside. Do Not Stay Home!
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The Secret To Saving Yourself From A Dying Home
March 6th, 2008 categories: Buyers, For Homeowners, Sellers
So you have had the home inspection done on the home you are buying. A few things needed some love. The HVAC is looking a little old but is still blowing and the dishwasher is the only thing that hasn’t been replaced.
Sounds a little risky. Its not like you will have a few grand to put up for a new air conditioning system if it dies this summer. What to do? Does your home owners insurance cover these items? Probably not.
Don’t worry. You are working with the Jonathan Bunn. Rated the best Realtor around in my opinion. That stands for something, right?
When purchasing an older home, I highly recommend a home warranty.
What is a home warranty? A home warranty is temporary insurance you can purchase that will cover most of the items that standard insurance does not cover. Things like; appliances, heating systems, cooling systems, garage door openers, washer/dryer, ceiling fans, garbage door openers, disposals, plumbing, electrical systems, trash compactor, etc… You can add other items depending on what home warranty plan you get.
Most home warranties last a year but can be extended from year to year. The typical cost will run you from the mid $300’s to the low $400’s. The price will vary based on what you have covered along with how much of a deductible you want to pay when the home warranty service provider comes out to fix an item.
For example: I paid $385 this year for the home warranty on my town home. This past week my dishwasher started acting funny so I called the home warranty guys. I paid $55 for them to come out and whala! I am covered. No parts charge, no hourly charge, no estimate charge. $55 and I am done.
The question you will have to decide for yourself is, “Will it be worth it?” Truthfully, I could have probably had this addressed for much less than $385. However, my home is getting too an age where this most likely will not be the only issue I call about this year. Some warranty companies will even buy you a new whatever if they cannot fix the present problem. Pretty cool.
So, if you are buying a brand new home, there is a good chance you already have coverage on your items and don’t need a warranty for a couple of years. Your call. If you are buying a previously lived in home, I would go for it. You can get one at settlement or wait some time like I did.
Oh, by the way… Do not make the mistake that one of my clients made. If you have a home warranty and you have a problem that needs to be fixed, DO NOT CALL your own fix-it-guy and then expect the home warranty company to reimburse you. CALL THEM FIRST OR YOU WILL BE PAYING ALL OF YOUR OWN FEES.
Sellers, if you have an older home, it may be an attractive offer to have your Realtor advertise that you will pay for the new buyers 1st year of the home warranty. It could save you from buyers asking you to drop your price for a new HVAC. No guarantees. On some plans you can even get the warranty while it is on the market to cover any issues during the selling period and not have to pay for the plan until settlement when you transfer it to the buyer. Sweet deal. Especially for vacant homes.
Here are a few home warranty companies to consider:
American Home Shield, 2-10 Home Warranties, HMS Home Warranties, Sears Home Warranty, and Old Republic.
If you need a referral to a home warranty salesperson, you can let me know by contacting me above. If you are moving in to Loudoun, Fairfax, or Arlington County and need a Realtor to work on your behalf, contact me.
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So Long Grantors Tax- Huge Update
March 4th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners, Local Issues, Real Estate News
This past Friday I posted one of the few articles in the area concerning the VA Supreme Court ruling concerning the Grantor’s Tax in the article:
What The VA Supreme Court Did Today That Gives Sellers A Reason To Dance!
Up until now we have not known what the effects of this judgement would mean. NOW WE DO!
Here is the quote from Gary Clemens, the Clerk Of Circuit Court:
“In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, my office will be making plans to refund the regional transportation tax collected since January 1, 2008. It is my understanding that the NVTA is meeting on March 6, 2008 to develop a refund policy and procedure. Once I receive information from the NVTA regarding their recommendations, I will announce the refund procedures on March 7, 2008.”
Therefore, if you were one that settled on your home since January 1st of this year - EXPECT A REFUND!
I will keep you up to date on any new information that I receive.
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What The VA Supreme Court Did Today That Gives Sellers A Reason To Dance!
February 29th, 2008 categories: For Homeowners, Local Issues, Real Estate News
1. Northern Virginia has transportation issues. Northern Virginia has a large population. Northern Virginia is growing.. Quickly. Northern Virginia roads need help.
2. Northern Virginia homeowners trying to sell don’t have extra money to pay for the road problems.
At the beginning of 2008, the Northern VA Transportation Authority increased the VA Grantor’s Tax (Congestion Relief Fee) paid when a seller sells their home by 500%! Therefore, instead of sellers paying .10 cents per $100 of what their home sold for, they would pay .50 cents per $100. In other words, on a $600,000 home, sellers no longer pay $600, they pay $3,000!
The fee was increased to help fund our transportation costs. It was the largest transportation investment in the last generation.
This morning the sweet wind of change blew across the Virginia Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling that ” Read the rest of this entry »
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Which Renovations Increase Value?
February 22nd, 2008 categories: For Homeowners
I have settled within myself that I will not be selling my home for quite some time.
That being the case, I have spent the last year doing a few things to my house that help me to enjoy it a lot better. I started out by putting tile floors in the kitchen, changing all of the old light fixtures, upgrading the knobs on my cabinets, putting hardwood on the main level, and replacing the upstairs carpet. I still have a lot to do to make it exactly what I want it to be. But for now I am feeling pretty good about its appearance.
Its important to keep in mind when deciding which home renovations that you will do to weigh the cost vs. the added value it will bring to the home. Just because you spend thousands on putting in a pool does not mean that you have added thousands to your homes value.
In a declining market I have found that some renovations won’t add much value to your home, but it will set your home apart from those that don’t have any additions. In other words, its not guaranteed that someone will pay 5k more for your home because you have granite counters compared to your neighbor who does not. However, it could mean that a buyer chooses your home over your neighbor because of those upgrades.
Here are a few things to considering when considering what upgrades you should do….
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4 Tax Deductions You Don’t Want To Forget
February 21st, 2008 categories: Buyers, For Homeowners
Its getting close to tax time for me.
Around this time of year I start looking for every tax deduciton I can get to decrease how much I owe my hungry uncle.
One of the largest deductions that I love being able to take come from simply owning a home. If you are a homeowner, especially a new one, it will pay to read this post. I want to let you in on 4 huge tax benifits that you don’t want to forget this year.
1. If you purchased a home on any day other than the first day of the month, you most likely paid “daily interest” until the end of the month. This interest is usually deductible. Check out line 901 of your HUD Settlement Statement.
Also, loan origination fees and discount points are many times tax deductible. The seller may have paid them for you! Check out lines 801 and 802 of your HUD Statement.
2. If you purchased a loan that Read the rest of this entry »
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