Hi, This is Carol Skees of RE/MAX Elite in Albuquerque, NM, and I am a member of the Institute of Luxury Home Marketing.
There are currently about 6,700 homes on the market in the Albuquerque area, and a bunch of these houses have been on the market for a long time. If you want to sell your homes, and not just keep it picture perfect every minutes of the day, here is a list of must do’s.
Make your home feel like the most welcoming house on the block so buyers fall in love as soon as they open the front door. You need a “Wow” factor within the first 5 seconds.
Remove all the clutter from the house and yards. If you don’t want to have the item in your new home, now is the time to get rid of it. Pack up and store anything you won’t need until you are in your next home, for example store your Christmas decorations if you are putting you home on the market is March. Rent a storage unit, and put the items you packed in the storage unit. Garages need to look spacious too, so don’t clutter the garage, clean it up. Closets should make the homebuyer thing “there is room to put my clothes in here”.
Clean the houses thoroughly, including windows, exterior, interior walls, floors, and vigas (if you have them) everything needs to shine. Stainless steel sinks can be made to shine it just takes a lot of elbow grease, appliances need to be clean (inside and out) and be free of fingerprints. Clean carpets and make sure there are no remaining spots or odors. Cleanup the yard, and add some pretty flowers at the front door, if time of year allows.
Have a home inspector review the property and prepare a report, I personally use HouseMasters in Albuquerque because they do a thorough job. Better to know what repairs are needed (and make them) before you are dealing with a purchase offer. A top-notch inspection gives you a clear picture of the condition of your home.
Have the house staged to show off the best features of the home. People want to see how the home will look. Think about how you feel when you walk into a model home verses an empty home – the same house can look very different. The home stager will make suggestions including perhaps storing some of your pieces and renting some other pieces.
Establish a market price based on strategic market position and the homes that sold in the last six months. Do you rely on a competitive market analysis that strictly prices your home like the other homes on the market in your area. If you want to sell your home, it needs to be strategically price to sell – remember you don’t want to have to keep your home in perfect condition for six months or maybe a year --- you want to sell it and move to your new home.
Hire a professional to market your home. A Realtor, on average, will save you 9% on the sell of your home. Have the Realtor provide professional pictures and a virtual tour that reflect the best parts of your home.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
Should Rentors buy a Home in Albuquerque Now
Hi, this is Carol Skees of REMAX Elite in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and today I would like to talk about a announcement I received from David Ehrlich of Nations Home Funding
Other than tax deductibility of interest and property taxes and no capital gains tax* on sale, there are a couple of factors that make January and February a good time for someone who is currently renting but thinking about becoming a homeowner to get off the fence and just do it.
The first is that there is a reasonable, but not an extreme, number of resale and new homes available on the market in the price range that is most attractive for people that are currently renting. Inventory is dropping, but we are not approaching the lack of inventory that we saw a couple of years ago. There is a good selection of homes is almost all areas.
Second, and probably the most important for Rentors is that Freddie Mac has announced that they will begin charging additional fees on March 1, 2008 for loans that have downpayments of less than 30% and credit scores under 680. The position many, if not most, people are in. Now, come on, what rentor buying a $200,000 house has $60,000 laying around waiting to put down? …. or would want to tie up that much money in their house? Plus 680 is a good credit score, especially for someone who hasn’t purchased a home before, or maybe hasn’t had a long credit history.
After March 1, 2008 paying more points at closing, or to pay an higher interest rate on your loan that is between one half and three quarters higher will be your only option. So if you are thinking about moving out of your rental unit and purchasing a home, townhome or condo, now is the time to do it.
If you would like an analysis of the tax savings, mortgage payments, monthly investment amount and your overall housing expenses under different levels of appreciation in the Albuquerque housing market, please call me ,Carol Skees of REMAX Elite, at 505-350-0911.
*see tax attorney for limits/rules
Other than tax deductibility of interest and property taxes and no capital gains tax* on sale, there are a couple of factors that make January and February a good time for someone who is currently renting but thinking about becoming a homeowner to get off the fence and just do it.
The first is that there is a reasonable, but not an extreme, number of resale and new homes available on the market in the price range that is most attractive for people that are currently renting. Inventory is dropping, but we are not approaching the lack of inventory that we saw a couple of years ago. There is a good selection of homes is almost all areas.
Second, and probably the most important for Rentors is that Freddie Mac has announced that they will begin charging additional fees on March 1, 2008 for loans that have downpayments of less than 30% and credit scores under 680. The position many, if not most, people are in. Now, come on, what rentor buying a $200,000 house has $60,000 laying around waiting to put down? …. or would want to tie up that much money in their house? Plus 680 is a good credit score, especially for someone who hasn’t purchased a home before, or maybe hasn’t had a long credit history.
After March 1, 2008 paying more points at closing, or to pay an higher interest rate on your loan that is between one half and three quarters higher will be your only option. So if you are thinking about moving out of your rental unit and purchasing a home, townhome or condo, now is the time to do it.
If you would like an analysis of the tax savings, mortgage payments, monthly investment amount and your overall housing expenses under different levels of appreciation in the Albuquerque housing market, please call me ,Carol Skees of REMAX Elite, at 505-350-0911.
*see tax attorney for limits/rules
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