Beat the Sluggish Market

Top 10 Ways to Beat the Sluggish Housing Market

By FrontDoor.com Published: 12/21/2007

Don't let the slow market get you down. Whether you're a home seller looking for offers, or a homebuyer facing stricter loan requirements, rev up your real estate potential with these helpful pointers from FrontDoor.com.

FOR SELLERS:

1. Give your house a makeover that adds value and keeps it up with the Joneses'. That doesn't mean you should run out and install Italian marble. But if hardwood floors are the norm in your neighborhood, replace the carpet.
10 ways to increase the value of your home

2. Use the secrets of staging experts, or hire one. Staging can be as easy as a fresh coat of paint, new cabinet hardware and strategically-placed lighting. Think of it as a creative, inexpensive facelift for your home.
How to dress your house for sale success

3. Find out what's wrong with the house and get it fixed. Don't wait until that serious buyer finds faulty wiring or a termite problem and then pulls the plug on the deal. Be proactive. Get an inspection before hitting the market.
Finding the right home inspector

4. Come up with a comprehensive home-selling strategy. Don't put an ad on Craigslist, stick a sign in the ground and call it a day. Whether you're going FSBO or using an agent, selling your home in a buyer's market requires a well thought-out plan with accurate pricing, targeted improvements and focused marketing and exposure.
How to sell your house in a buyer's market

5. Hire an aggressive, well-connected real estate agent. Find an experienced agent with a proven track record and knows how to pound the pavement. In this market, name recognition is important, so find the go-to person for buyers and their agents in your community.
Shopping for a Realtor

6. Help a buyer buy it. Offer incentives that put money in the buyer's pocket, such as buying down the interest rate, absorbing more of the closing costs or offering seller financing.
Creative financing options to sell your home

7. Consider renting or offering a lease option. Minimize the impact of two mortgages by renting your house out until you find a buyer. Or offer a lease option to a motivated buyer who doesn't have enough cash to buy a home outright.
Is rent to own right for you?

8. Make the house move-in ready. Throw in the furniture, flat-screen TV, washer/dryer, appliances, backyard jacuzzi AND the kitchen sink. The less money a buyer will have to shell out to furnish the house, the higher the perceived value.
The pros and cons of non-price terms

FOR BUYERS:

9. Use calculators and tools to evaluate your potential purchase. Be careful not to get caught up in the hype of a buyer's market. Make calculated decisions with FrontDoor.com's "Return on Investment" tool, for instance, which helps you determine your potential IRR (internal rate of return) on a property.
Determine your potential return on investment

10. Evaluate and boost your financial profile. If you're having trouble finding favorable terms or interest rates on a mortgage, make yourself more appealing to lenders by boosting your credit score.
Give your credit a not-so-extreme makeover

Four Summer Season Updates to Heat Up Your Home Value

Get the most bang for your buck when upgrading your backyard and outdoor area

By Geoff Williams, FrontDoor.com Published: 6/30/2009

If you like to entertain, you can reap the benefits now of updating your outdoor area and then later when you sell.

It's that time: barbecuing on the grill, the kids running in the sprinkler and daydreaming about fixing up the backyard. If you live in a city that isn't blessed with warm weather year-round, the summer season is probably your only chance to really enjoy and make the most of your backyard.

Chances are, your outdoor areas need some resuscitation after the winter. And while one may be wary about pouring money into a home that's declining in value, you could argue that this is the best time to fix up the backyard, especially if your family plans to use it a lot and you live in a moderate climate. Plus, nowadays, contractors aren't quite as hard to reach. Sales and deals abound. And of course, it's a great long-term investment for your home.

So if you've been thinking about making the outside of your house as comfortable and inviting as the inside, consider these tips and advice from an established Realtor and a veteran home appraiser.

Avoid spending too much on landscaping for your backyard. Keep it simple and easy to maintain.

SUMMER UPDATE #1: THE BACKYARD

The return on your investment (ROI): Surprisingly, not so good.

Why not so good: It's not that you want to have crab grass or that part of the backyard should look like an area where lawn mowers and cars go to die. That's obviously going to scare buyers away and could lower the price.

But as Brendan DeSimone, a Realtor in the San Francisco area, observes, "Landscaping is variable and not utilitarian like a deck or kitchen or living room."

In other words, yes, flowers are pretty, but any buyer with a brown thumb knows that a few months under their care and that breathtaking garden you spent hundreds or thousands of dollars maintaining may wind up being worth about 30 cents.

What you should focus on with your landscaping: Concentrate on "keeping up with the Joneses, not beating them," suggests Sam Lai, a prominent Seattle real estate appraiser. "In beating them, you'd win bragging rights, but you'd lose money."

That said, Lai does favor spending a small fortune on your landscaping if it's important to you and your quality of life -- just not if you're looking to make the money back.

The resale value of an outdoor kitchen or outdoor living room is best in high-end suburban neighborhoods.

SUMMER UPDATES #2 AND #3: OUTDOOR KITCHEN AND OUTDOOR LIVING ROOM

Your ROI: Very good.

Why very good: Well, who wouldn't want a home with a barbecue pit or high-end grill (assuming you're going to leave it behind)? And the thought of departing your outdoor kitchen and walking a few feet to your outdoor living room so you can lounge on comfortable chairs and eat at a table in your backyard, using furniture far above a lawn chair and a rickety card table -- well, that's appealing, too.

As for costs, it really depends on your tastes and what your budget is. Spend a thousand, and you can probably get a reasonable grill and maybe a table and chairs with the umbrella over it. But if you're really going to do it right and go for a little luxury, it would be easy to spend closer to $10,000 and beyond.

DeSimone says this is a great investment "especially valuable in suburbs where people have larger backyards and pools. An outdoor kitchen or outdoor living room can serve as a buffer between the real indoors and the rest of the yard. If you have kids in the pool or guests enjoying sitting out in the yard, you don't have to keep going in and out to serve food or drinks."

But Lai warns, "There's the risk of over-improvement if your market doesn't support such high-end amenities." So if you're in a middle class neighborhood and you just don't see these outdoor kitchens and living rooms, go ahead and create them if they're important to you. Just know that the resale value is going to be much higher in the most elite neighborhoods where a buyer isn't going to think twice about adding another $5,000, $10,000, $20,000 or more to the cost of the house.

In fact, Lai says that in some of the million-dollar-plus neighborhoods, investing $100,000 in your backyard could yield a 200 percent profit "if you were starting with a functionally obsolete backyard."

What to focus on when you're building: You want your outdoor rooms to look inviting and hopefully in character with the neighborhood, not to mention the house. And while it's kind of obvious, any furniture should be as weather-resistant as possible.

Adding a deck offers the best return on investment for your backyard.

SUMMER UPDATE #4: THE DECK

Your ROI: Excellent

Why excellent: People simply love decks and compared to, say, a swimming pool (average cost: $15,000), they're relatively cheap (figure about $2,000-$5,000 or more, depending on where you live in the country and what you're looking for).

As DeSimone raves, "A deck is easy to build, brings the outdoors in and is instantly valuable." Lai agrees, calling it "probably the most dependable investment a consumer can make to their backyard."

What to focus on when you're building: Like the outdoor rooms, you want your deck to fit in with the character of the house. It should look like the original home builder constructed it and not as if it was some hasty add-on.

And don't forget about the lighting, cautions Lai. Think compact fluorescent bulbs and LED lighting, which are very energy-efficient. You might even want to go with solar-powered lights. From an energy standpoint, says Lai, "Every bulb makes a big difference, really, and this can help pay that deck project much faster."

It's also something that customers are expecting, says Lai, and so once again, investing in energy-efficient lighting can pay off when you do sell it. Of course, if you really go all out and revamp your backyard, you may just never want to sell your house.

23 Hampton Lane

Wonderful brick home on peaceful cul-de-sac/1st flr mstr with luxury bath & great closets/add'l 1st flr full & 1/2 bath/LL spa-hot tub & sauna/french drs to private deck/Hyde Park neighborhood per Hamilton Co.auditor/possession Nov. 2010.

711 Springhill Lane

Wonderful Springhill Lane! Custom brick home with 1st floor master bdrm/spacious kitchen & breakfast room opens to screen porch & deck/1st floor laundry/3 car garage/fresh tasteful decor/character & quality throughout!

1138 Belvedere Street

WOW! Wonderful Riverview condo-over 2500 sf-hardwood floors-high ceilings-elevator-laundry-3 car heated garage-3 decks-low HOA fees-wonderful privacy

2963 Annwood Street

Offered at $1,190,000. Call me today for a tour 513-533-8080. Also check out the history of 2963 Annwood at 2963annwood.blogspot.com

10596 Tanagerhills Drive

Nestled on a gorgeous 1.5 acre lawn at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac is this custom-built home. Tanagerhills Subdivision & Sycamore Schools/gourmet stainless steel & granite kitchen/finished lower level/volume ceilings/GORGEOUS!

Price Reduced 6409 Kenwood Road

Just Reduced! Incredible 3800+ sf brand new custom home on 13th fairway of Kenwood Country Club! Flexible open plan offers 1st or 2nd flr master/tumbled marble & granite luxury baths/cherry flooring/Paver terr/E-Z care/fabulous convenient loc.

Tune in tomorrow (Tuesday 3/9)

Tomorrow night (Tuesday 3/9) I will be on WLWT Ch. 5 at 7:30PM regarding the real estate market & why now is a great time to buy! Please tune in!

429 Stanley Avenue

Original character combined with today's amenities makes this home an excellent find! Beautiful decking & grounds/double lot/fabulous kitchen, 4 walk-in closets, just blocks to Columbia Square!Offered at 259,000. Call me today for a tour 513-533-8080.

A Cool Place Offering Great City Views

A cool place offering great city views from all 3 levels/only 20 years old/hardwood floors/huge equipt kitchen/new HVAC '07/new roof '09/easy care! Offered at $214,900. Call me today for a tour 513-533-8080.

Wow! Great townhome overlooks the lake & woods!

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Staying Warm this Winter!

1. Learn to love socks. If your feet are cold, your whole body will feel cold, so make a point of wearing socks around the house in the winter. The next step if you’re still feeling cold: Bundle up in a sweater or a blanket rather than cranking up the heat.

2. Tap heat that’s there anyway. There are plenty of activities you do around the house that generate warmth, such as cooking a meal or taking a shower. When you shower, keep the bathroom door open so steam spreads to other rooms, and don’t turn a ventilation fan on; it will rapidly remove the warm air you’re hoping to keep around.

3. Lower your thermostat. You likely won’t notice a huge difference if you turn it down just a few degrees, a move that can shave 5 percent to 10 percent off your heating bill. It’s especially wise to turn down the heat whenever you leave your home for several hours.

4. Watch that water heater. It’s also not likely to be noticeable if you turn down the thermostat on your water heater to, say, 120 degrees from about 140 degrees.

5. Consider a programmable thermostat. They cost between $30 and $100, but that’s money you’re sure to make back over the course of a year because your heating bills will drop. A programmable thermostat allows you to adjust the heat on a predetermined schedule, so you can lower the heat when you’re not home or when you’re sleeping.

6. Don’t let heat escape unnecessarily. Keep your doors and windows shut when the heat is on. If your home has a fireplace that you aren’t using, be sure the flue is closed and glass doors are in place to minimize heat loss. In addition to those bathroom ventilation fans, turn kitchen ventilation fans off when they aren’t needed.

7. Call for a checkup. Proper maintenance will help your heating unit run more efficiently. Electric and oil heaters should get professional attention at least once a year and gas heaters every other year. Also, here’s a step you can take all on your own: Remember to check the filters in your heating system and make sure they’re clean and clear. Dirty filters lead to higher heating costs.

8. Keep windows covered when it’s dark outside. This will help you reduce heat loss and keep cold air at bay, especially if you have older windows. But be sure to let in the light during the daytime — those rays of sun will help heat your home.

9. Explore outside. Check the exterior of your heating unit. Avoid stacking anything against the heat pump or draping anything over it. Hose the outside unit down to clear it of dirt, leaves and grass clippings. If your indoor unit appears to have excess water around it, see whether the condensate drain and pan are blocked.

10. Light a candle. Not for warmth, but for the purpose of doing a little sleuth work. Hold the flame near windows, doors and light fixtures and look for smoke moving in a horizontal direction. If you see it, that means you’ve spotted an air leak, and it likely means heat is escaping your home easily. To solve that problem, install some low-cost caulking or weather-stripping, or consider adding some insulating material.

Sources:
• Energy Information Administration
• U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• SmartMoney magazine
© 2010 msnbc.com. Reprints

Pending Sales Up

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes increased 1 percent, as expected, in December. That helped lift home builders' shares. D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI - News), one of the top five U.S. home builders, reported its first quarterly profit in almost three years and its stock jumped 11.1 percent to $13.23.
Source: Yahoo Finance.

Top Ten Projects That Add Home Value

#1: Top Budget-Friendly Project: Clean and Conquer Clutter
If you’re on a tight budget, cleaning and decluttering is by far the most cost-effective way to add value to your home. A clean and clutter-free home looks larger and more livable and makes a great first impression on homebuyers.

#2: Top Energy Efficiency Project: Add Insulation
Energy-efficient upgrades have two advantages: they add value to your home, and they save you money in the long run. The most inexpensive way to increase your home’s energy efficiency is to add insulation.

#3: Top Outdoor Structures Project: Build a Fence
Adding a fence to your property can enhance its appearance, give you extra privacy and add value to your home overall.

#4: Top Big Ticket Project: Finish the Basement
If you’re willing to take on a major remodeling project, finishing your basement can add value and more usable space to your home.

#5: Top home Exterior Project: Repair Gutters
While they’re certainly not a home’s most exciting feature, gutters should be at the top of the list of your exterior updates. Gutters keep the rest of your homes exterior free from water damage.

#6: Top Outdoor Living Project: Add Outdoor Lighting
Adding outdoor living space to your home is almost like adding square footage, and more square footage equals more home value. If you have a patio or deck, start making it more welcoming by installing outdoor lighting.

#7: Top Landscaping Project: Tidy Your Lawn
When it comes to adding value to your home, curb appeal is key. Before you take on any major landscaping projects, start small by getting your lawn in shape.

#8: Top Storage & Organization Project: Maximize Storage Space
Ample storage space tops most homebuyers’ wish list. If your home has a large garage and walk-in closets, you’re in great shape. If not, you can make the most of the storage space you do have with organizers.

#9: Top Bathroom Project: Refresh Fixtures
Like the kitchen, little changes go a long way when it comes to bathroom updates. Simply replacing old fixtures and hardware can give an outdated bathroom a stylish, contemporary look.

#10: Top Kitchen Project: Upgrade Appliances
The kitchen is one room where upgrades almost always bring a large return on investment. One way to improve your kitchen is to simply replace your old appliances. Stainless steel is the current standard…Any updated appliances will look better, run better, and gives your kitchen more appeal.

10543 Tanagerhills Drive

Wow! Wonderful home on premier lane ready for your personal touch! Gorgeous private acre lot, stainless steel appliances, 1st floor laundry, great screened porch. Offered at $319,900. Call me today for a personal showing 513-533-8080.

5718 Ridge Avenue

Don't miss this great home very tastefully updated! Equipped newer kitchen with stainless appliances & counter bar. First floor family room opens to deck & deep lawn. Two great full baths and insulated windows throughout the home. Offered at $169,900. Call me today for a personal tour 513-533-8080.

Take Advantage of Free Money

The following are key points that prospective home buyers should be aware of when considering a home purchase under the tax credit program.
* A tax credit of up to $8,000 is available for first-time home buyers purchasing on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. In cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.
* A tax credit of up to $6,500 is available for repeat home buyers who have owned a home for five consecutive years out of the prior eight years. The repeat home buyer tax credit applies to houses sold after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. In cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.
* Income limits of $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for married couples filing jointly apply to all sales occurring after Nov. 6, 2009.
* The income limits for sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before November 6, 2009 are $75,000 for individual taxpayers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
* Homes priced above $800,000 are not eligible for either the first-time home buyer tax credit or the repeat home buyer tax credit.
For complete details go to: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/key_info.php