 You've accepted the job offer, met with the REALTOR, and are starting to get bids from moving companies.It's official—you really are selling your home and moving away! As anybody who has ever sold a home knows quite well, it takes a lot more than sticking a For Sale sign in the front yard and hoping that potential buyers will love it as much as you did. In order to get the best price for your home and pique the interest (and bidding power) of buyers, you need to take some time to stage your home so that it looks and smells—yes, smells—terrific, inviting, and worth every dollar of your asking price. The following four tips can help home sellers effectively and attractively stage their home: 1. Consider new window treatments Take a look at the various window coverings in your home and ask yourself if they look new, clean, and in excellent condition. If the answer to any of these questions is an honest "no," then consider getting some new window treatments. Home window treatments are available in a variety of textures and colors, and can make a huge difference in the quality of light that enters a room. 2. Upgrade your tile with paint As HGTV notes, bathrooms have been known to help sell a home, but old and shabby tile will definitely steer potential buyers away faster than you can say "avocado and almond tile." Because replacing tile can be on the costly side, sellers can repaint them. After coating the tiles with a primer (be sure you purchase one that is marked "high adhesion"), paint the tiles with a ceramic epoxy coating. This relatively easy and low-cost job can really help update the look of the bathroom without having to spend a ton of money on new tile. 3. Tone down an old fireplace Sure, that brick fireplace in the living or family room looks great during the holidays when it's festooned with stockings and the various trimmings of the season, but the rest of the year it really doesn't do much for the look of the room. To lessen its visual impact, try adding a thin coat of paint to the bricks. In order to avoid the mortar, you do have to paint one brick at a time, which can be time-consuming. But the pay-off of painting your fireplace is well worth your patience when you have a new neutral focal point in your room. One additional tip: to make sure the fireplace blends in as much as possible, choose a color that closely matches the surrounding walls. 4. Simmer some apples Nothing will turn off home buyers faster than a musty, moldy, smoky, and/or any other type of undesirable smell. Even the cleanest home can often benefit from the addition of a nice aroma. Shortly before your open house, place some sliced apples and cinnamon sticks in a sauce pan on the stove, and let them simmer. The delicious smell will be sure to tempt potential buyers to spend even more time—and hopefully money—on your home. |
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Saturday, January 4, 2014
4 Tips for Effectively Staging Your Home for Sale
Friday, January 3, 2014
For Those Who Held On, Equity Has Returned
Home prices surged 11.3 percent this year compared to 2012, the latest
housing data by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) shows.
A rise in home prices has pulled more home owners out from underwater
with the return of equity this year, NAR notes.
On NAR's Economists' Outlook blog, researchers explain that a borrower who
bought a median-priced home in 2004 and held it for nine years - the average
tenure in a home - would now have $28,114 in equity (this includes combined
price appreciation and paying down mortgage principle).
A home owner who purchased a median priced home in 2012 would have
more than $23,000 in equity.
Home owners who purchased in 2006 and 2007 - during the peak of the market
- have faced the biggest falls in home prices, but NAR researchers note they
are "nearly in positive equity" territory. A home owner who bought a home in
2006, for example, and owned through 2012 would have been underwater by
about $28,200. However, by this year, that downfall has lessened to $4,700.
Home owners who bought since 2007 are mostly in positive equity, according to
NAR research.
A study released last week by CoreLogic showed that more home
owners were regaining equity. About 13 percent of all homes with a mortgage
remain in negative equity by the end of the third quarter, compared to 14.7
percent who stood in negative equity at the end of the second quarter.
housing data by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) shows.
A rise in home prices has pulled more home owners out from underwater
with the return of equity this year, NAR notes.
On NAR's Economists' Outlook blog, researchers explain that a borrower who
bought a median-priced home in 2004 and held it for nine years - the average
tenure in a home - would now have $28,114 in equity (this includes combined
price appreciation and paying down mortgage principle).
A home owner who purchased a median priced home in 2012 would have
more than $23,000 in equity.
Home owners who purchased in 2006 and 2007 - during the peak of the market
- have faced the biggest falls in home prices, but NAR researchers note they
are "nearly in positive equity" territory. A home owner who bought a home in
2006, for example, and owned through 2012 would have been underwater by
about $28,200. However, by this year, that downfall has lessened to $4,700.
Home owners who bought since 2007 are mostly in positive equity, according to
NAR research.
A study released last week by CoreLogic showed that more home
owners were regaining equity. About 13 percent of all homes with a mortgage
remain in negative equity by the end of the third quarter, compared to 14.7
percent who stood in negative equity at the end of the second quarter.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Your Credit Score - Understand It!
A Credit Score is a three digit number but this seemingly
harmless number is strongly tied to the amount you can borrow.
It also influences the terms of borrowing. In order to stay on top
of your finances, it is crucial for an individual to thoroughly
understand credit scoring in order to make well-informed
decisions.
Credit Scores: How Credit Bureaus Calculate Them
There are three main credit bureaus operating in United
States, Equifax, Trans Union and Experian. While every credit
bureau uses a different method for calculating the credit score,
individuals with a long history of paying their debts on time,
using the appropriate types of credit and not exceeding their
available credit lines are most likely to have a good credit score.
The ideal credit score falls in the range of 300 to 850. The
higher your credit score, the higher are your chances of
securing a loan with desirable terms.
While there are several credit scoring companies, the FICO
score is the most widely used in mortgage application. Several
factors contributing to the FICO score are as follows:
Payment history
As the highest contributor to your score, individuals with a
habit of paying bills late are most likely to suffer. Since payment
history is a clear reflection of an individual's likelihood of
committing default on financial obligations, it is the biggest
contributor in a credit score calculation at a 35% value.
Outstanding debt
The next biggest contributor to your credit score is the
amount you owe. If the amount of debt you owe is close to your
credit limit, your score will take a steep decline. Similarly, if you
have outstanding balance on several accounts, this reflects
negatively on your credit score. Outstanding debt has a 30%
value on the score. This factor also takes into account the
amount of debt you owe as compared to the amount of the
amount of debt available.
Length of credit history
The next most crucial aspect of your credit score is the
length of credit history. They say old credit is the best credit.
This is indeed true because the longer your accounts are open,
the better it is with boosting your score. Length of credit history
has a 15% contribution to the credit score.
The length of credit history is further broken down into three
parts which is how long certain account types have been
opened, how long accounts have been opened, and how long
since those accounts have been used. At least one credit
account that is active in the last six months is crucial for a long
and well established credit history.
New credit
If you have applied for any new credit accounts recently, it
will calculate a 10% value towards your credit score. If you have
opened several accounts in a small time frame, your credit
score will decrease. This can be particularly dangerous if an
individual does not have a very long credit history.
Types of credit
This is where the types of credit you have come into play.
Finance company accounts, retail accounts, installment loans,
and credit cards accounts are the ideal scenario for a healthy
mix of installment and revolving accounts. This aspect is usually
taken into consideration only when there isn't sufficient
information to determine the score.
What is worse for your credit scores?
Are you wondering what is worse for credit scores?
Bankruptcy, foreclosure, collection and charged off accounts?
Whether it's a foreclosure on your report, bankruptcy or charged
off accounts, the credit score is going to drop. All three
scenarios show a pattern of not being able to fulfill your
financial obligation and will obviously lower your score.
harmless number is strongly tied to the amount you can borrow.
It also influences the terms of borrowing. In order to stay on top
of your finances, it is crucial for an individual to thoroughly
understand credit scoring in order to make well-informed
decisions.
Credit Scores: How Credit Bureaus Calculate Them
There are three main credit bureaus operating in United
States, Equifax, Trans Union and Experian. While every credit
bureau uses a different method for calculating the credit score,
individuals with a long history of paying their debts on time,
using the appropriate types of credit and not exceeding their
available credit lines are most likely to have a good credit score.
The ideal credit score falls in the range of 300 to 850. The
higher your credit score, the higher are your chances of
securing a loan with desirable terms.
While there are several credit scoring companies, the FICO
score is the most widely used in mortgage application. Several
factors contributing to the FICO score are as follows:
Payment history
As the highest contributor to your score, individuals with a
habit of paying bills late are most likely to suffer. Since payment
history is a clear reflection of an individual's likelihood of
committing default on financial obligations, it is the biggest
contributor in a credit score calculation at a 35% value.
Outstanding debt
The next biggest contributor to your credit score is the
amount you owe. If the amount of debt you owe is close to your
credit limit, your score will take a steep decline. Similarly, if you
have outstanding balance on several accounts, this reflects
negatively on your credit score. Outstanding debt has a 30%
value on the score. This factor also takes into account the
amount of debt you owe as compared to the amount of the
amount of debt available.
Length of credit history
The next most crucial aspect of your credit score is the
length of credit history. They say old credit is the best credit.
This is indeed true because the longer your accounts are open,
the better it is with boosting your score. Length of credit history
has a 15% contribution to the credit score.
The length of credit history is further broken down into three
parts which is how long certain account types have been
opened, how long accounts have been opened, and how long
since those accounts have been used. At least one credit
account that is active in the last six months is crucial for a long
and well established credit history.
New credit
If you have applied for any new credit accounts recently, it
will calculate a 10% value towards your credit score. If you have
opened several accounts in a small time frame, your credit
score will decrease. This can be particularly dangerous if an
individual does not have a very long credit history.
Types of credit
This is where the types of credit you have come into play.
Finance company accounts, retail accounts, installment loans,
and credit cards accounts are the ideal scenario for a healthy
mix of installment and revolving accounts. This aspect is usually
taken into consideration only when there isn't sufficient
information to determine the score.
What is worse for your credit scores?
Are you wondering what is worse for credit scores?
Bankruptcy, foreclosure, collection and charged off accounts?
Whether it's a foreclosure on your report, bankruptcy or charged
off accounts, the credit score is going to drop. All three
scenarios show a pattern of not being able to fulfill your
financial obligation and will obviously lower your score.
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