Buyer’s Perspective: What to Look For at an Open House

Buyer’s Perspective: What to Look For at an Open House

As with any big purchase, buying a home should be carefully planned and well thought out before any paperwork is signed. As a buyer, you should use an open house as an opportunity to ask a REALTOR® questions and imagine how the house you’re walking through could work as a home for you. You want to learn and know as much as you can about the house so you can make an informed decision when it’s time to buy.

Here are four things to bring to an open house:

§  Tape measure

§  Smartphone/Camera

§  Notebook

§  Folder to organize spec sheets and flyers

During the Open House

When you attend an open house, start by examining the neighborhood. Check the overall condition of the houses around the open house – pay attention to upkeep in the surrounding area. In addition to checking out the area,  keep an eye out for any potential maintenance issues on the exterior of the open house including peeling paint, cracks, or missing roof shingles/tiles.

Remember that open houses are designed for the home to look great. Keep a critical eye as you enter the house and walk from room to room. Look for telltale signs of damage or poor construction including:

§  Uneven floors

§  Water stains on walls, floors, ceilings (especially in kitchen, baths and basement)

§  Mold

§  Cracks in the wall or ceilings

§  Musty smell

§  Condition of the roof

Look out all the windows and check out the view, because changing the view is something you can’t easily fix. Don’t be afraid to open cabinets and drawers. Examine storage areas and closets and consider if the storage is adequate for you and your family. Feel free to turn on the water in the kitchen and bathrooms to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Try to look beyond any furnishings and imagine yourself in the bare bones of the home. Many homes have been staged for viewing and appear to be in tip-top shape; it’s best if you can avoid being dazzled by furniture that will be removed before you move in.

Take notes, pictures and video as you move throughout the house. (Make sure you ask before you whip out a camera –– politeness still counts.) Documenting your open house tour will serve two purposes: 1) Provide a record of issues that might help you negotiate a better deal, and 2) Help refresh your memory when you are making your decision about which house to buy.

Consider asking these questions:

§  When was the house built? (Houses built pre-1978 used lead paint.)

§  What renovations were made and when?

§  When was the home listed? (The longer it’s been on the market, the more likely it is to be overpriced.)

§  If you have kids, ask about the local school district

Asking questions is key, but you should keep a bit of a poker face – in a competitive market, you want to keep your thoughts to yourself until it’s actually time to negotiate a deal. Keep your ears open for what other folks who walk through the home are saying. They may note things about the home or neighborhood that you hadn’t yet noticed.

After the Open House

If you are interested in a house you just viewed, set up an appointment to go back. This is one of the most important things you can do when you are shopping for a home. Give yourself some time to think things over and re-examine the pictures that you took.

Above all, trust your gut. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t let the beauty of a perfectly staged home sway you into making a decision that isn’t right for you.

What Is The Best Insulation For My Garage

What Is The  Best Insulation For My Garage

Though often overlooked, your garage is one of the most important rooms in the house. It’s also one of the largest. It gets used several times everyday. It acts as a main storage unit. Plus, if you have an attached addition, it probably becomes your most accessible entryway, which makes your garage door more like your front door. However, since this room is often considered an outbuilding (even when it’s attached) it tends to be neglected. Usually these spaces are not properly sealed, hazard-proofed, and typically remain uninsulated, making them inefficient and possibly dangerous.

Why Garage Insulation?

What’s the point of insulating every nook and cranny around the house just to let air seep in and out of the garage, especially since these spaces are known for fluctuating temperatures: they’re steamy in the summer and freezing in the winter? So whether the area is small or large, and whether you use it a lot or not, it’s vital to install garage insulation. It helps to prohibit air seepage, heat transfer, health threats, and most importantly, it saves on unnecessary energy costs. You may even spend more time out there once the climate has become better regulated due to proper insulating.

Where Does It Go?

If garage insulation is just installed in the one wall edging your home’s interior, you’ll already be saving tons on energy costs: a lot of air escapes and heat is transferred between this particular partition. Plus, by law, insulation in this wall is required to be fire-rated (due to the high probability of combustible liquids stored in this “room” and its lack of smoke detectors), which adds an extra layer of safety to the space. And don’t forget the ceiling: If an attic or bedroom rests above, insulating this “horizontal wall” is crucial. Also, you can insulate the door with ready-made kits that seal and prevent any problematic air gaps.

Which Garage Insulation Is Best?

There are a couple options when it comes to insulation. Each depends on your budget, whether you do it yourself or hire a contractor, and your personal needs:

§  Batt insulation: This cotton-fiberglass material is fairly inexpensive and easy to use: simply place it in between the studs, staple a vapor barrier to cover it, and you’re in business. However, for it to work effectively, you’ll need to wall it up as well. Therefore, you’ll need to buy and install 1/2-inch drywall around the room (though ceiling and walls adjacent to living areas typically require 5/8-inch drywall). This may require the work of a garage contractor, depending on how handy you are and how good you want the final product to look. It adds to your cost but if it’s worth being done, then it’s worth being done right.

§  Blown-in insulation: If you already have drywall installed around your garage but don’t have it insulated, then blown-in insulation may be the answer. A contractor will come and open up a hole in the wall, pump in a cellulose insulating material, and then patch up the opening. Blown-in insulation is quick and can be done within a few hours without any additional demo or reinstallation. However, it may be a bit more expensive since contractors usually charge a minimum fee no matter the size of the space or the time it takes.

§  Foam board: If you don’t want to install drywall, you may be able to cover the batt insulation with rigid foam board. But check with your local building codes to make sure it has a radiant barrier and guarantee that it is flame tested.

Proper Sealing

Once the garage insulation is installed, it’s important to take a quick inspection of the area. Since there are a lot of dangerous chemicals around this space, and since cars give off a lot of exhaust (and dangerous carbon monoxide), you’ll want to be sure everything is sealed off. Caulk around the bottom of the drywall and seal it to the floor. Weatherstrip the door leading into the house. Possibly buy a metal door for extra fire safety and always make sure it self-closes. And examine around any windows, electrical outlets, and the garage door for air leaks that may need to be addressed to ensure energy efficiency.

This article was originally written by Marc Dickinson and originally published on HomeAdvisor.com

Negotiating Tips for Home Sellers

Negotiating Tips for Home Sellers

In an ideal world, every homebuyer and every home seller would get exactly the deal they want for their real estate transaction. In reality, the best deals are the ones in which each side feels they got most of they wanted and didn’t have to give up too much to the other side.

As a seller, you will be best served by stepping back and letting your REALTOR® take the lead in negotiating on your behalf—even if you consider yourself an expert negotiator in other areas of your life. You should absolutely be involved in the behind-the-scenes discussion with theREALTOR® representing your interests, but try to avoid direct negotiations with the buyer or the buyer’s agent in order to keep the process impersonal.

Top Tips for Sellers

Avoid emotional decision making: When you are selling your home it can be hard to detach yourself from the process. After all, you’ve enjoyed your life in the property, given it your personal touches, and maybe even raised your family there. Now, though, you need to look at your residence as a business prospect and try not to take any offer or any comment personally.

Rely on your REALTOR®: Prospective buyers typically have a buyer’s agent representing their interests and you should have a listing agent who is representing yours. If you have chosen the right agent, you should feel comfortable letting him take the lead in negotiations to get the best possible outcome for you. Your REALTOR® will know current market conditions better than you and can negotiate with the market in mind.

Always make a counteroffer: Many sellers find a lowball offer insulting and would rather ignore it, but you are better served by acknowledging the offer and beginning the negotiating process. After all, the buyers are at least interested in purchasing your home and it is worth trying to come to a mutually acceptable agreement.

It’s not only about price: It is easy for sellers (and buyers) to fixate on the offer price, but in reality what matters more is your final profit on a completed transaction with an agreeable settlement date. You can negotiate about the price of your home, but remember that it’s equally important to make sure the buyers have financing in place so they can make good on their offer. Sellers and buyers can also make agreements about repairs to the home, who will pay the closing costs and which items convey to the buyers in addition to the settlement date. If you are having trouble getting to an agreement on one issue, it’s possible that a concession on another topic will help cement the deal.

Determine who has the upper hand: You and your REALTOR® can evaluate local market conditions to see whether buyers or sellers generally have more power, but you both can also make this determination based on what you learn about an individual buyer. If you are a desperate seller who has already had an offer accepted on your next home, you may need to be more lenient in negotiations; but if your buyer needs to move faster and there are few homes available for sale, you could have more power.

Move quickly: While it may be tempting to wait and see what other offers come in, REALTORS® often note that the first offer is often the best one and sometimes the only one. If the offer is close to what you had hoped for, keep the momentum going and make a counteroffer so the buyer doesn’t have time to lose interest.

You and your REALTOR® should work closely together to handle negotiations with potential buyers, but before you get too caught up in the process it helps to establish your priorities for your home sale. Once you know your bottom line in terms of profits from the sale and any other details, you can move forward more easily in the transaction.

How Do I Appeal a Property Tax Assessment

How Do I Appeal a Property Tax Assessment

QUESTION: I just received my property tax bill in the mail and it shows a new assessed value for my property, so my taxes are higher. What does a tax assessor do? How does a tax assessor determine property values? Can I appeal the assessment?

ANSWER: While no one likes to pay a bigger property tax bill, the silver lining to getting a higher assessment is that your property has increased in value. Your higher value probably doesn’t matter much to you right now unless you intend to refinance your mortgage, take out a home equity loan or sell it, but having more equity in your property and owning an asset that is increasing in value is definitely better than learning that your home has declined in value.

Your property tax assessment has been calculated by a tax assessor, an employee of your local government whose job it is to determine the value of various properties. Most properties are evaluated every one to three years to estimate their value for tax purposes.

Although the work a tax assessor does is similar to an appraiser, there are some differences. An appraiser is either self-employed or works for an appraisal company and is hired by a lender or an individual to determine fair market value for a property. Appraisers typically do a physical inspection of a property inside and out, in addition to relying on market statistics and other data. Tax assessors sometimes physically visit a home, but they rarely go inside a property. They base their property assessments on the estimated values of nearby properties and use computer programs to generate a value for your home.

An appraisal for sales purposes can vary by as much as 10 to 15 percent or more compared to a tax assessment because it’s based on the most recent market conditions. This is particularly true in areas where homes are assessed only every three years, since market conditions can change dramatically in that time and home values could have risen or fallen significantly. In many cases the assessed value is lower than the actual market value of a home.

It is important to realize that a tax assessor isn’t actually determining what you will pay in property taxes. In most states, the local governmental bodies set tax rates that are applied to every property owner. The tax assessor doesn’t have anything to do with setting tax rates or with collecting taxes. The only role of the tax assessor is to estimate your property value.

Appealing Your Assessment

If you believe the assessed value of your home is too high, you do have the right to appeal your assessment. Your property tax assessment should have an explanation of how to make an appeal on the form you received in the mail, but you can also search your local government’s website to find out how to begin the appeal process. Be aware that you will have to start the appeal process by a date established by the local property tax office. For example, in Washington, DC, property tax assessments dated Feb. 28, 2014, must be appealed by April 1, 2014. An appeal sent after that date will not be accepted.

Your appeal will need to be accompanied by a concrete reason why you believe the assessment is wrong, not just from an estimated value on a real estate website or an opinion. You should provide documentation of a recent homeowner’s insurance evaluation, a recent appraisal or, if you refinanced or purchased this home recently, a settlement statement.

If your appeal does not result in a lower assessment, and you anticipate being unable to make your higher tax payment, you should immediately contact your local property tax office and discuss options for tax relief.

Cut Your Electric Bills Painlessly

Cut Your Electric Bills Painlessly

A few simple tricks can save you a bundle

When Mom told you to turn out the lights, she was thinking of saving energy dollars, not rolling blackouts and bankrupt utility companies. Rarely have Moms words of wisdom been as fitting as they are now and not just in California. Electricity rates are going up everywhere.

Besides switching off  lights, there are several other painless methods to conserve energy and save money on your electric bills.

Plug ins

• Look for those electronic devices, especially those with digital time and date displays that are infrequently used such as alarm clocks, TVs and VCRs in a guest room and unplug them.
• Unplug devices used to recharge electronics/batteries when they're not being used.
• Transformers consume energy. Consider unplugging devices like calculators that are not in use.

Appliances

• Wait until you can fill up your dishwasher before running it. And if you have a heated-dry option, switch it off. Prop open the door a bit after the cycle to air dry your load.
• If you have an electric cooktop, turn the burners off a few minutes before the allotted cooking time. The heating element will stay hot long enough to finish the cooking without using more electricity.

8 Things To Avoid Before You Buy a Home

8 Things To Avoid Before You Buy a Home

If you have been approved for a mortgage for your next home, you might be assuming you can breathe easy now and just concentrate on packing and preparing for your move. Not yet.

While most of your hard work of building a good credit profile and amassing savings for a down payment and closing costs is behind you, it’s important to remember that your lender will recheck your credit just prior to your settlement date and will also verify a few details such as your place of employment to make sure nothing has changed.

That’s the key phrase—“nothing has changed.” You must take care to maintain the same credit profile that led to your loan approval until your mortgage paperwork is completely signed.

Avoid the following actions to ensure a smooth settlement:

1. Don’t apply for new credit: It may seem natural to apply for a credit card at a home improvement store or a furniture store when you are about to become a homeowner, but applying for credit can lower your credit score. Not only will you lose a few points because of a credit inquiry, but if you are approved for new credit, a lender may worry that you will spend up to your new credit limit and then default on your loan.

2. Don’t close any credit accounts: You may be feeling that this is a good time to get your financial house in order by closing unused credit accounts or transferring your debt to a new credit card with a zero-interest balance transfer offer. While that’s a smart move financially, it’s a bad one for your credit score because you lose points when you have a higher usage of debt compared to your limit on one credit card and to your overall credit availability. Wait until your closing is complete before you make these changes.

3. Don’t move your money around without a paper trail: Your lender will need the most recent bank statements before you go to settlement, so if you have any unusual deposits you will need to provide complete documentation of where the money came from. If possible, it’s best to move the cash you will need for your home purchase into one account before you apply for a mortgage. If not, make sure you have complete and accurate records readily available.

4. Don’t increase your debts: In addition to your credit score, your debt-to-income ratio is extremely important to a loan approval. If you take on more debt you could be in danger of going above the maximum acceptable debt-to-income ratio.

5. Don’t skip a payment or make a late payment: One of the most important elements of your credit score is your history of on-time, in-full payments, so don’t get so caught up in your move that you forget to keep up with paying basic bills.

6. Don’t buy a car: You may be feeling that a new car would be a nice addition to the driveway of your new home. Resist that feeling. Even if you can easily afford a new car, the depletion of your savings or the addition of a new car loan could derail your mortgage application. Wait until after you have moved to switch to a new car.

7. Don’t change jobs if you can help it: While a job change could mean a raise or a path to a better future, it could also delay your settlement. Your lender needs to verify employment and will need paystubs to prove your new income before your loan can go to settlement.

8. Don’t spend your savings: You’ll need cash on hand at the settlement for your down payment and closing costs and your lender may even verify your cash reserves one more time, so make sure the funds stay in place.

In other words, no matter how hard it is at this exciting time, it’s better to do nothing than to do anything.

Step Up Your Curb Appeal

Step Up Your Curb Appeal

A beautiful yard is a head-turner, no doubt about it. The good news is that even if you can’t tell a tulip from a turnip at the garden center, you can still create eye-catching curb appeal by paying attention to the basics of good landscaping. Ignoring your yard—or doing something that’s out of character with the neighborhood —can jeopardize the assessed value of your home.

“We have several categories for design and appeal,“ says Frank Lucco, an appraiser in Houston. “That’s where we make those adjustments. Poorly maintained landscaping can be as much as a 5% or 10% deduction.”

Although many appraisers praise good-looking landscaping at sale, they say it’s difficult to assign an uptick in value to upkeep. However, landscape economist John Harris says good landscaping can add up to 28% to the overall value of a house and cut its time on the market 10% to 15%.

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But don’t landscape merely to flip a house. You won’t get your money back, says California appraiser Sandy MacCuish.

Here are the top suggestions from real estate agents, appraisers and landscape designers for boosting the curb appeal of your yard:

Green Up the Grass

If your house has a front yard, make sure it‘s neat and green by following a lawn maintenance calendar. You don’t want bare spots, sprawling weeds or an untrimmed appearance.

“It’s so simple to go to Home Depot, buy fertilizer, apply it every six weeks, and water it,” says Mitch Kalamian, a landscape designer in Huntington Beach, CA. “It will green up.”

If the yard looks really scruffy, you may decide to invest in some sod. Sod will average about 15 cents to 35 cents per square foot, according to the National Gardening Association. If you hire a landscaper to sod your yard for you, labor will add 30% to 50% to the total cost of the project.

Another alternative is to plant low-maintenance turf grasses, which are durable and drought-resistant. Expect to pay $18 to $30 for enough turf grass seed to plant 1,000 square feet of lawn area.

Add Colorful Planting Beds

Flower beds add color and help enliven otherwise plain areas, such as along driveways and the edges of walkways. In general, annual flowers are a bit cheaper but must be replaced every year. Perennials cost a bit more but come back annually and usually get larger or spread with each growing season.

If you’re not sure what to plant, inquire at your local garden center. Often, they’ll have a display of bedding plants chosen for their adaptability to your area. Also, they‘ll be inexpensive because they’re in season, says Peter Mezitt, president of Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, MA. Try pansies in the summer, and asters and mums in the fall to add vibrant color. “That’s what we do around the entrance to our garden center,” Mezitt says.

Valerie Torelli, a REALTOR® in California, who dresses up her clients’ yards to sell their houses faster and for more money, says that in her market she can put in a bed of colorful annuals and bark, as well as cutting down overgrown shrubs, for less than $500. “We can buy gorgeous plants for $3.99 to $15.99,” she says.

Add Landscape Lighting

For homeowners who have made a sizeable investment in landscaping, it makes sense to think about adding another 10% to 15% to the bill for professional outdoor lighting. After all, buyers aren’t always looking at houses on a Saturday afternoon.

The cost of a system runs from $200 for a DIY installation to more than $4,000 for a professional job. If you‘re doing it on your own, the key is to light what you want people to see, such as mature trees and flowering shrubs.

Plant a Tree

The value of mature trees is particularly difficult to determine. Lucco says that in his market mature trees contribute as much as 10% of a $100,000 property’s overall value. In addition, a properly placed shade tree can shave off as much as $32 a year on your energy bills. Expect to pay $50 to $100 for a young, 6- to 7-foot deciduous tree.

You can make your own initial assessment of the value of your property’s trees by visiting the National Tree Benefit Calculator. For example, a mature Southern red oak tree with a diameter of 36 inches in the front yard of a house in Augusta, GA, might add $70 to the property value.