Last Minute Christmas Ideas to Make the Holiday Bright

Last Minute Christmas Ideas to Make the Holiday Bright

It's almost Christmas. The tree is done, the gifts wrapped and plans have been made. Things may seem finished, but there are still ways to add more merry to your holiday and celebrate the season with some simple pleasures that everyone will remember.

1. Put your Christmas cards on the mantle or the wall. So many times we read a Christmas card once and then set it aside. Use Christmas cards to decorate your home and let family members see them on display.

2. Drive around and see the lights. Many people go to a great deal of trouble to put up lovely displays of lights. Load the family up and take a drive. It costs nothing but a little gas and is a cozy way to spend time together.

3. Watch a Christmas movie together. Try it's a wonderful life, Rudolph the Red nosed reindeer or any other movie that means Christmas to you.

4. Decorate Christmas cookies. Sure it's time consuming and a huge mess but nothing says Christmas like red and green sprinkles. Use ready made cookie dough and break out all those adorable holiday cookie cutters. Make everyone help.

5. Go Christmas caroling. Hardly anyone goes Christmas Caroling anymore. Amuse your neighbors and have fun. It's not American Idol. Just raise your voices and do your best. Invite the neighbors to join you.

6. Make a snowman. If you can muster up the snow, make a snow man (or woman) or a whole snow family to decorate your yard. Christmas is one time that snow is not entirely unwelcome.

7. Look at old pictures of Christmas past. Go as far back as your are able to and show the family pictures of Christmas when you were a child. Take the time to tell the stories that go with the pictures.

8. Make Christmas treats for the birds. Cover pine cones with peanut butter and bird seed and hang them from the trees or bushes where you can watch the birds enjoy them.

9. Watch Christmas episodes of your favorite TV Shows. The Simpsons have 20 Christmas episodes you could watch for as long as you can stand it.

10. Set up a back drop and take pictures of your pets in reindeer antlers. Or just take their picture with a Christmas backdrop. Put the antlers on the kids. Have fun with a silly family photo session

Now that the work is done, enjoy the holiday with these simple ideas. The smallest holiday activities can mean the most.

Make Your Home a Hot Commodity This Winter

Make Your Home a Hot Commodity This Winter

Although the holiday season can be a hectic time to show and sell your house, there are distinct advantages to staging and showing your home at this time of year—you have a chance to show your home at its very best, adorned with warmth and cheer that’s sure to charm. Nothing is more inviting than a home brimming with greenery, twinkling lights and holiday decorations.

Inviting and Warm

First impressions are important. If you live in a snowy area, make sure walkways are cleared. Do you have late fall leaves littering the ground? Rake them up. Also, make sure the walks and stairs are free of ice.

A few exterior holiday lights or decorations show pride in ownership and seasonal cheer, but they don’t add anything during the day when potential homebuyers will be looking at your home, so don’t overdo them. Another thing to consider: Would-be buyers may view it favorably if nearby homes are brimming with lights—it shows unity and neighborliness—so you’ll want to find a tasteful balance.

As you set out to win over holiday homebuyers, here are a few other tips to keep in mind:

§  Trim outdoor trees so unexpected winds don’t knock down branches that could damage your home or hurt someone.

§  Place a holiday welcome mat outside the front door.

§  Keep the door area clear of bicycles, toys or parcels left by the mail carrier.

§  Hang a festive wreath on your door.

§  Play holiday music in the background.

§  Keep the house cozy. Entering a cold house could chill potential buyers’ enthusiasm.

§  Light a fire in the fireplace just before the agent shows your house. (But never leave a fire unattended.)

§  Choose a tree and decorate it to complement the room where it’s displayed. You don’t want the tree to appear to take over the entire living or family room. Remove furniture, if necessary.

§  Keep decorations on the conservative side. You want your house to be noticed, not your decorations.

§  If your house is being viewed in the evening, tell your agent how to turn on the holiday lights. And be sure the agent turns the lights off, or you have a plan to be home immediately, following the showing.

§  Make sure your agent turns the home security system back on after showing your house, especially if you have gifts under the tree.

§  Be certain your windows are sparkling clean.

§  Let there be light. Open blinds and curtains and turn on interior lights to reduce the pervasive dreariness of winter months.

§  Bake holiday cookies and treats to fill the home with enticing aromas before the prospective buyers arrive.

§  Leave those holiday treats and hot chocolate for your guests.

Ultimately, you want to convey the love, comfort and joy your family has shared in the house so that buyers will be eager to move in and create their own holiday memories.

Why For-Sale-by-Owner Sales Fail

Why For-Sale-by-Owner Sales Fail

Homeowners obviously know their homes better than anyone, but that doesn’t mean they’re the best salespersons for their properties.

Some sellers are tempted to try a For Sale by Owner (FSBO) transaction because their local community is in the midst of a sellers’ market and they think they can sell easily without help. Others try the FSBO route because they want to maximize their profits and avoid paying a commission to a Realtor.

However, statistics show that selling your home with the assistance of a professional real estate agent will garner you a higher profit, enough to cover the commission as well as put more money in your pocket. According to the National Association of Realtor’s 2013 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the average FSBO sales price was $174,900, while the average price for a home represented by an agent was $215,000, a difference of $40,100.

Why to Sell With a Realtor

Choosing to sell with a professional rather than on your own makes sense for a variety of reasons:

§  A Realtor has access to market data about recent sales and other homes on the market that can be used to price your home appropriately. Studies show that homes priced right when they’re first listed sell more quickly and for a higher price than those that linger on the market.

§  A Realtor can show your home when you aren’t available, can respond to inquiries from potential buyers and their agents, and can get valuable feedback from visitors — all things that save you time.

§  A Realtor can look at your home objectively and suggest ways to improve its appearance — by staging and minor repairs — so it appeals to more buyers.

§  Buyers typically prefer to look at a home without the seller present so they can feel more comfortable exploring the rooms and visualizing themselves in the property. At an FSBO sale, the seller must be present.

§  A Realtor can screen visitors to your home, which provides a measure of safety that FSBO sellers don’t have. In addition, by checking to see if the buyers are legitimate and can afford to purchase your home, a Realtor can help you avoid wasting time showing your home to unrealistic buyers.

§  Realtors have professional marketing expertise, contacts with other Realtors who work with buyers, and the support of a brokerage that can market your home more widely than you can as an individual.

§  A Realtor can help you negotiate a contract that not only garners you an appropriate price for your home, but that meets your needs for a settlement date and perhaps includes a period when you rent back your home from your buyer. In addition, a Realtor can make sure your contract is in compliance with all local regulations.

FSBO Dangers

Most buyers today work with a buyers’ agent to represent their interests. If you choose to sell your home on your own, you’ll be negotiating with a professional and relying on your own skill to finalize a contract. Not only could you end up selling your home for less money, you could leave yourself open to potential legal problems unless you have the contract vetted by an experienced real estate attorney.

FSBO transactions can be successful, of course, but 90 percent of homeowners prefer to work with a professional rather than risk an unsatisfactory home selling experience.

House Hunting-Know What You Want

House Hunting-Know What You Want

A quick search on realtor.com will bring up thousands of homes for sale.  Educating yourself on your local market and working with an experienced Realtor can help you narrow your priorities and make an informed decision about which home to choose.

Start With Your Budget

Before you begin your house search you should have a preapproval letter in hand from a lender and an idea of your comfort level with a prospective house payment. You and your Realtor can begin to search for homes for sale that fit your budget, but keep in mind that you don’t necessarily want to spend up to the maximum amount you can borrow. On the other hand, you can consider going slightly above your preferred price range as long as the monthly payment is still affordable or if you have extra cash to make a bigger down payment.

Find the Right Neighborhood

After you’ve established your price range you’ll need to narrow your search by neighborhood. You should be looking at neighborhoods that allow an acceptable commute to work. Think about the type of setting in which you want to live — urban, suburban or rural. Do you want a community with lots of outdoor recreational amenities; one with shops, restaurants and nightlife; or one with plenty of activities for children and good schools?

Many homes, whether they are single-family residences, townhomes or villas, are part of a homeowner association (HOA). Part of your search process should be to consider whether you want to live in an HOA or not. On the positive side, HOA rules help protect home values and the dues often include community amenities and maintenance. On the other hand, the rules also limit what you can do with the exterior of your home. You’ll also need to include HOA dues as part of your housing budget.

Condominiums and cooperative homes also have association dues and offer a different type of ownership, with the association owning the exterior of the property while you own the interior. These dues will be part of your housing budget, but they typically include some of your homeowner’s insurance and other costs, as well as pay for amenities such as a swimming pool or a fitness center.

It’s a good idea to visit communities at various times of day and night, and on weekends and weekdays, to get a feel for who lives there and what the activity level is like.

Two important elements of a neighborhood influence how well the homes in that community will hold onto their value: crime and schools. While Fair Housing laws prevent a Realtor from telling clients about crime statistics or talking about “good” or “bad” schools, a Realtor can direct you to websites that provide information about those topics. Even if you don’t have children and don’t plan to have them, buying a home in a well-regarded school district can help the property’s long-term value.

Start Searching

Most buyers start searching for a home online on websites such as realtor.com, but you can also ask a Realtor to help you find homes for sale. You can request email alerts that notify you when a home that fits your list of priorities comes on the market.

You can evaluate a home first by looking at photos and a description online. In many cases, homes’ online listings have virtual tours or videos that offer the opportunity to see more.

The next step in your house hunt is narrowing down your priorities to find the home that meets your needs.

Look at both new homes and existing homes. New homes are sometimes more expensive than existing homes, but they require less maintenance and often have lower utility bills because of their energy-efficient features.

Must-Know Tips for Navigating the Housing Market

Must-Know Tips for Navigating the Housing Market

“Studies on homeownership prove that it enhances our lives in many ways, and among them is how we plant deeper stakes within the communities we call home,” notes John L. Heithaus, CMO of MRIS. “Since navigating the housing market has become more complex than ever, any potential homebuyer, whether a first-time buyer or not, can benefit from solid professional advice in their pursuit of homeownership.”
To that end, MRIS has compiled the following list of “must read” tips from among its 45,000+ network of real estate professionals, reinforcing some of the best practices for ensuring that potential homebuyers are home-ready.
• Understand and update your FICO credit score. This single number plays a major role in determining the interest rate on your mortgage, so it’s vital to know what your FICO score is, address any discrepancies and take corrective action to improve your score if it’s below par. As of May 2012, 664 was listed as the national average, and the median was listed as 723. According to Heithaus, individuals with scores of at least 700 tend to get the best rates on a mortgage. Each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies—Equifax, Experian and Trans-Union—are required to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once per year.
• Know what you can afford. Up to 12 months in advance of your desired home purchase, establish a relationship with a trusted mortgage lender who can help you identify your monthly payment goals, target purchase price and the types of loans you are qualified for based on your current financial situation.
• Boost your savings. After you have determined your monthly payment goals and target purchase price, make sure you have the cash on hand for when you are ready to buy. We suggest saving enough money for six months of mortgage payments, as well as a minimum of 3.5 percent of the purchase price to cover the down payment and closing costs. First-time and repeat homebuyers should also establish reserves for less visible expenses, such as closing costs, moving costs, home repairs, renovations and planned upgrades when saving for a home.
• Avoid making major purchases. When preparing to buy a home, it’s important to stay away from big-ticket items, such as purchasing a car, in order to keep your cash reserves high and show the lender that you’ll be able to service the mortgage debt more easily.
• Understand the micro-local real estate market. Homebuyers can save themselves money by watching the seasonal trends in their targeted area(s) and being financially prepared to make an offer when the time is right.
• Consult a real estate professional. Long before you are ready to buy, seek out and interview up to three real estate professionals who can prepare you to face the market by addressing questions, setting realistic expectations and providing valuable insight and expertise to the complex process of home purchasing.
The tips above were provided with support by MRIS customers Teresa Tolson, Teri Deane, Colleen Minahan and Debbie McKeen. For more information, visit www.MRIS.com ^[2].

Be Prepared for Mortgage Rules Changes in 2014

Be Prepared for Mortgage Rules Changes in 2014

The world of mortgage lending has changed significantly since the housing bubble burst. Mortgage lenders have returned to traditional loan standards that require extensive documentation of income and assets for a loan approval.

Government regulatory agencies also continue to react to the housing crisis, with more adjustments to mortgage requirements set to go into effect in 2014:

Qualified Mortgage Rules

Whether you’re thinking of buying a home or mulling over refinancing your mortgage, Jan. 10, 2014, could be an important date for you to remember. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in the process of implementing regulations to meet goals set forth by the Dodd-Frank Act in Congress, which was meant to correct the errors that led to the housing crisis. The CFPB’s “Qualified Mortgage,” or QM, rules go into effect in January. Essentially, these rules require lenders to prove borrowers’ ability to repay a loan by meeting several guidelines, including a maximum debt-to-income ratio of 43 percent. While many lenders already limit borrowers to a similar maximum debt-to-income ratio, the new rules won’t allow for any compensating circumstances such as significant cash reserves or a large down payment to be considered in order to offset a higher debt ratio.

If you have credit problems or a high debt-to-income ratio, you may want to push through your loan application for a refinance or home purchase to make sure you close your loan before the new rules go into effect. However, many lenders are already using QM standards in order to make sure they’re in compliance with the regulation. Mortgages that don’t meet QM standards will have to be held by the lender rather than sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so most lenders are careful to meet the new standards.

The 3 Percent Rule

The new QM requirements also limit fees for originating a loan to no more than 3 percent of the loan amount. If you’re financing a more costly home, such as a $400,000 home or more, the lender can easily keep fees under 3 percent, which in this case would be $12,000. However, if you’re refinancing a smaller loan balance or purchasing a less expensive home — for example, for $80,000 — the lender might find it more difficult to keep all fees under $2,400. Mortgage lenders are less likely to offer loans for smaller amounts since they won’t always recoup their costs and make enough profit to pay their staff. If you need a small loan, you may want to push to get it closed before Jan. 10, 2014.

Self-Employed Borrowers

One particular group of borrowers will most likely be impacted by the QM rules: self-employed borrowers. These borrowers already are heavily scrutinized and find it more difficult to obtain a mortgage because they must prove their income based on tax returns and profit-and-loss statements, rather than standard paystubs and W2 forms. The “ability-to-repay” feature of QM rules requires all borrowers to prove they have the cash flow to make payments on their mortgage. Self-employed borrowers often have fluctuating income and rely on cash reserves to pay bills in-between payments, but the emphasis on cash flow can make it harder for lenders to approve a loan even for someone with significant funds in the bank.

Potential Lower Loan Limits

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced in October that plans to reduce the maximum loan limits for conventional conforming loans will be delayed until later in 2014. Typically, loan limits are adjusted on Jan. 1 of each year, but the agency decided to wait to see the impact of the introduction of QM rules before making changes. Currently, the limits are $417,000 in most housing markets and rise to $625,500 in high cost areas. If you need a mortgage near these limits, it would be wise to close your loan earlier in 2014 rather than later in case limits are lowered.

A Realtor can recommend a reliable lender who can help you navigate the new mortgage world in 2014.

Removing Wallpaper: DIY Basics

Removing Wallpaper: DIY Basics

By Howard Stier

Tired of that out-of-date, peeling wallpaper in one or many of your rooms?  Well, if you can muster some patience and a few tools, you'll be able to nicely remove it and create a new blank canvas for a fresh surface.

Removing it can be easy. Or, it can be a big chore. This, of course, depends on the paper and the kind of glue that was used to adhere it to the walls.

(Note: If existing wallpaper has a smooth surface and is securely fastened to the wall, you may be able to paint or paper over it and avoiding the removal process altogether.)

What you'll need to remove wallpaper

• Wallpaper removing solution or gel
• Spray bottle
• Hot water
• Drop cloths
• Scarifier or coarse floor sanding paper
• Scraper or broad knife

1. First, try using a scraper or putty knife to peel it off the wall, carefully lifting up a corner of the paper at an angle.  If you can remove it easily, great! Continue peeling. You may use a kitchen rolling pin to remove dry paper.

2. If you are unable to peel wallpaper completely, however, you'll need to go to the next step.  So, fill a spray bottle with a solution of hot water and wallpaper removing solution which you will use to cover a test area of about 4 square feet. You can also use a gel remover to avoid water damage to trim and floors. Leave solution on the walls for 15 to 20 minutes -- but no more than that. Leaving the solution on longer can cause damage to drywall.

3. The solution should quickly dissolve the adhesive if the wallpaper is porous. For non-porous paper, you will need to score the surface before applying solution with a special scarifying or scoring tool, coarse floor-sanding paper, or the tooth-edged side of a saw. The decorative surface of some wallpaper easily separates from the backing which allows you to dry-strip the decorative surface and use solution and a broad knife to remove the backing.

4. If the existing wallpaper was laid with proper prepping, you should lay new wallpaper on top of existing paper rather than risk damaging drywall by removing.

Tips for Specific Types of Wallpaper

Flocked: Constructed from very fine cotton, silk or nylon fibers, some flocked papers have a paper substrate which can be removed using a solution or a steamer.  If you are unable to remove the surface, you may need to dampen flock fibers before scoring the surface. Saturate the scored surface for 15 minutes and then remove using a broad knife. Fabric backing should peel away easily.

Commercial grade vinyl: You can easily remove most commercial grade wallpaper, especially if you pull off at a 10-degree angle in narrow, 4-6 inch strips.

Cork Veneer, Felt, and Suede: Cork veneer is constructed from cork shavings laminated to a substrate paper. Felt and suede wallpaper have a napped finish resembling leather. For these types of wallpaper, you usually strip the decorative surface from backing. You may need to score the backing with coarse sanding paper before soaking with full strength removal solution. After ten to twenty minutes of soaking, use a broad knife to scrape away backing. If you are unable to remove substrate, install the new paper directly on top. It is preferable to remove both layers.

Foil: This paper is constructed of a thin aluminum sheet laminated onto a paper or scrim substrate. There may be a polyester sheet between the foil and substrate. You will need to score foil paper with rough sandpaper before dampening with wallpaper-removing solution.

Natural cloth paper: This category contains grasscloth, hemp, jute weave, paper weave, reed cloth, string cloth, and rush cloth and is made from natural plant materials. You will need to remove the texturized surface by saturating with wallpaper removing solution and scraping. Repeat to remove backing. If backing cannot be removed, dry, sand, and paper over the backing.

Expanded vinyl: This paper has a raised, heat embossed patterns. You can usually dry peel the surface layer and can either lay new paper over paper backing or scrape away after soaking with a mixture of warm water and removing solution.

Liner paper: You may be able to lay new paper directly on top of liner paper if the liner paper is securely fastened to the wall. If it needs to be removed, first try to dry strip. If that doesn’t work, use the soak and scrape technique.

Photo mural: This wallpaper also has a decorative surface over backing. You can usually peel away the surface. If you are unable to peel it off, you will need to score, spray, and scrape.

Mylar: This wall covering has a foil-like surface which usually dry strips from the backing. You will need to soak and scrape the backing.

Solid sheet vinyl, silkscreen, or wetlook: These wall coverings feature decorative surfaces made of vinyl which can be removed by pulling the surface layer.

Standard Paper: The thin vinyl coating on this paper can be removed with coarse sandpaper, sprayed with warm water/removing solution mixture which you can let soak for 15 minutes before scraping.

Vinyl coated: You can usually dry-strip vinyl coated paper from the wall. You may need to score with sandpaper or a scarifying tool before soaking with solution and scraping.