Every new home builder is motivated by complex forces ranging from the state of the real estate market to economic forces to pressure from investors. Most home builders will have set goals or made predictions of the number of homes that will be sold in a given year. The pressure to meet or exceed these goals is intense, especially if the home builder company is publicly traded.

When a year is coming to an end, the home builder must take every imaginable step to meet their yearly sales targets. Every empty home in a residential community or residential development represents somebody’s reputation – or even their job. As the months become days before a year ends, those whose job depends finding new home buyers for an open single family home for sale will take every imaginable effort to find a new home buyer.

For those that want to purchase a house, the climate creates both risks and opportunities. People considering a new house purchase from a residential home builder are faced with unique opportunities to seize and detrimental sales ploys to avoid.

When Fall approaches the turn to Winter, a new home builder will offer discounts, freebies, loan reductions and other incentives. As each free amenity is presented, you must discern if the intention of the new home builder is simply to sell a new home or to get rid of problematic inventory.

The following four guidelines should be followed if a new house purchase is being considered at the end of the year.

Due Diligence

In today’s real estate market, as the year comes to a close, selling prices of everything from single family homes for sale to luxury homes for sale to condos to new homes for first time homebuyers will be discounted. These discounts will likely only be finalized if the new house purchase is completed before the end of the year.

Everybody likes a bargain. It is likely that because it is a buyer’s market, an open home in a new home development is open simply because there are more available houses. But you will want to do your due diligence. Find out how many people considered purchasing the house. Did they choose a new home from the same home builder or did they look elsewhere? Why didn’t they choose the home you are considering? Be creative in your search for answers to these questions. For example, find out if there are other homes of the same model you are considering and ask these owners of similar homes about their experience and evaluate if the deal is as good as it seems. If the home builder can stand by their product, they may even offer to put you in touch with other happy homeowners. Also, if possible, find a home inspector independent of the one recommended by the new home builder.

Home Builder Reputation

When the sales office offers free carpeting or luxurious draperies, you are probably just enjoying fortunate timing but perhaps those new drapes are hiding poor construction. Look into the home builder’s reputation. How long have they been on the market? What do existing home owners say about the home builder? If the home builder has been around awhile, if they have a website demonstrative of quality and professionalism, if they encourage you to contact current home owners (or try to change the subject), these are all factors that indicate the reliability of the home builder. Transparency, longevity and steps taken to ensure trust, these factors all should demonstrate you are working with a trustworthy homebuilder.

Quality of Construction

As you consider if the free television offered is big enough, consider the quality of the electrical system that gives the TV its juice. Consider the walls, the floors and ceilings, the plumbing. Each home builder will work with one or more vendors to supply the materials with which each home is built. Research the vendors – are they of quality or shoddy. If a home builder is using inferior products, the result will be an inferior home.

Customer Service

Chances are, the home builder office contacted you via phone or email soon after you first expressed interest in buying a new home in a residential development. Find out if that responsiveness continues after papers are processed. If you buy a home at the end of the year, remember that this is holiday time. If you need to speak with somebody, will they be available? And will you have the support you need when you move in? Be sure that you will have the customer service you need after the sales process is over. Keep in mind these questions can be answered with a little online research, by contacting existing home owners, and by evaluating the quality of customer service before you sign the dotted line.

These guideline and pieces of home buying information for people considering a new house purchase from a residential home builder should assist potential home buyers. Remember, the incentives offered by a new home builder are probably offered just to meet sales goals. But the possibility exists that the homes are open because there is something problematic about the homes. So do a little bit of research and these incentives are yours to enjoy.

Not everyone can buy the dream home they want, maybe if you win the lottery. So how do you realize that dream?

Well one way is to build your own, and to do that you are more than likely going to need a home building loan. Today’s financial products have become more flexible and geared to the needs of lenders.

As an example, when you look at personal loans, not the ubiquitous highly competitive unsecured loans, which are offered by almost every single lender. The unsecured type are normally never offered over £25,000.00, which won’t really help with a full building project. A better alternative are the personal secured loans, these are geared to the equity that you have in your existing property and will reflect a better interest rate. This type of loan will release equity to get you started, and will need to be factored in when you finally come to sell on.

A self build project can save 20-30%, as you make savings that the builder would normally build in for himself. There are specialist lenders who have specific products with the benefit of staged payments for example. With these you draw down the required proportion of the whole only as and when it is needed. This also means that you are only paying interest on the part of your home building loan that you are actually using.

Finding the best secured loans, or specialist self build products is all down to thorough research. Just as is the critical step of finding the right plot to build on or sourcing the quality building products at the right price. So before you commit to a second mortgage home loan or the like, do your homework on all aspects of building your dream home, not just the variance of one investment property loan compared to another.

You're sitting in your car waiting patiently at a zebra crossing on a cold and miserable Friday afternoon in March. Thoughts of your imminent departure to Spain and a week in your recently constructed luxury Spanish villa enter your mind as you watch a man in a wheelchair having trouble crossing the street in the pouring rain. For sure, he could probably do with a holiday too but although crossing the street is one thing, you realise you never saw one advertisement for Spanish property that catered for this type of customer when you did your research a while back.

It is true that the property market in Spain has witnessed phenomenal growth along its beautiful Southern coastline from the Costa Brava to the Costa del Azahar and from the Costa Blanca to the Costa del Sol. Northern Europeans, principally Brits and in smaller numbers, the Dutch, Germans amongst others have chosen to holiday, invest or even make the life-changing decision to move to Spain.

Much of Spain is mountainous, and it is fair to say that in many regions the Spanish have yet to catch up with the UK when it comes to provisions for those with wheelchairs and disabilities, particularly when it comes to public access and mobility issues.

At the beautiful pine-forested luxury villa development of La Cala in Javea, however, there are no such concerns. Brand new Spanish homes, built on flat plots and to the most exacting of standards using the finest materials, are available to anyone looking for a home in the sun. The bespoke nature of the development, however, means that the special and indeed, individual needs of clients are fully taken into account during the initial architectural design stage.

For wheelchair users, this might mean wider entrance doors, wider external pathways, low level kitchen surfaces, additional support rails, lower level switches, lower level bathroom sinks, ramp access pathways, spacious rooms for turning, single level "bungalow" type construction, no steps or stairs and higher level wall sockets to name a few. All builds are personally managed and supervised by your bilingual project manager.

In 2005, over 1.2 million new single family homes were built and sold in the U.S. That’s new houses being built by thousands of large and small contractors. And the number one complaint is that the quality of the work was less than satisfactory.

In fact, if you bring up the word “contractor” at any cocktail party, everyone has a horror story to tell. If you’re having a home built, you start to wonder, “Who’s watching the construction of my home? Who makes sure it’s built right?”

Most new homeowners I talk to say, “Well, isn’t the local building inspector taking care of that?” Yes, to some extent they make sure the house is built right - but only from a building code standpoint.

Remember that the building codes are minimum standards your builder must follow. For example, the code says that a bathroom exhaust fan must provide a given number of air changes per hour for a given size of bathroom. The code doesn’t care how noisy the exhaust fan is.

The codes cover design criteria that are intended to keep your house from failing structurally. Codes also emphasize life safety issues, to protect you if you are not smart enough to know that you shouldn’t use your hair dryer in the bathtub.

It’s what the building inspector does NOT inspect that you should be concerned about. Rarely do they climb onto your roof to see that the roofing shingles are installed properly to prevent them from blowing off in the first wind storm. I don’t recall ever seeing any local code inspector check to see that the tile around your shower has a moisture barrier to prevent mold problems later.

If the building inspector is not watching your house construction, then your builder must take responsibility for the other 10,000 opportunities to build things right (or wrong). Many of the biggest builders in the country have internal inspection systems to ensure their homes are built right, but many do not. Some builders use third-party inspection organizations to check some of the structural items that the code inspector does not check.

Chances are, your new house was not inspected to the extent that you will be satisfied. What can you do?

The number one solution is to educate yourself and don’t be afraid to ask questions if it looks like something is not right. One of the easiest ways to do this is to get copies of the installation instructions from the manufacturer of the products being installed on your house. Many are available on the Internet at the manufacturer’s Web site.

Another way you can protect your investment is to hire an independent inspector to periodically check the work in progress. This can be expensive, but it’s a bargain compared to what lawyers working on the problems that occur later may have to charge per hour. Check out the inspector’s qualifications; some home inspectors may be knowledgeable about new construction but may lack the experience needed to do a thorough examination.

People often hire inspectors after the house is built, just before they close on the sale. Houses must be inspected as they are built. Most inspection people are hired too late in the process, when the most important things are covered up or are difficult to fix.

Ask your builder if he uses an independent inspector. How often and at what milestones does he inspect the home? Are there inspection reports available for you to see?

Homeowner beware: don’t assume that your home is being built right. Take control of the outcome by educating yourself about construction practices and making sure your new home gets the quality focus you paid for.

If you're thinking, "I should sell my house without a realtor," the current real estate market and explosion of the Internet will make your job easier.

Sell My House Without A Realtor

If you are looking to sell a house without a realtor, you are known as a "FSBO" seller. FSBO stands for the phrase "for sale by owner." Although FSBO sellers have always existed, they have become much more prevalent in the last few years due to two primary factors.

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An insanely hot real estate market has made realtors somewhat irrelevant in many parts of the country. For instance, homes in San Diego, California were known to be on the market for less than two weeks on average in early 2005. Keep in mind, this was the average time it took to sell a home including the run down messes. In such a market, many homeowners started wondering why they were paying six percent commissions to a realtor who didn't have to do much.

The creation of FSBO real estate listings sites like FSBOAmerica.org has exploded over the last three or four years. As buyers and sellers became more familiar with these sites, they often searched online for homes instead of driving areas with a realtor. This resulted in sellers wondering why they should pay a commission of 6 percent to a realtor when a site like this one only charged $25 a month to list a home on the site. Many couldn't come up with a reason.

The decision to sell you house without a realtor is one you should make carefully. If you're comfortable with the sales process, going FSBO makes all the sense in the world. If you're not comfortable with the negotiating process, then you may want to consider using a realtor. Ultimately, your first step should be to buy a FSBO book in your local bookstore and read up on what is involved.

With a robust real estate market, selling a house isn't particularly difficult. Here's a primer on how to sell your own house.

How To Sell Your Own House

First and foremost, you need to educate yourself on how real estate transactions happen. There are online guides and plenty of books on the subject at your local bookstore. When you decided to sell your own house, you are considered a FSBO seller [for sale by owner]. This FSBO market is growing like mad, which means you can find form contracts and agreements ready made for your particular state.

A second thing to realize is real estate laws are generally governed by states, not the federal government. This means the particulars of real estate transactions in your state may be different from those in another state. You should look for references related to your state, not nation wide advice. Nonetheless, here are a few universal pointers.

1. Determine the price of comparable homes in your neighborhood. This is going to give you a very good idea of what you can ask for your house when you put it on the market.

2. Objectively look at your home and make a list of things that need to be fixed. Selling a house often comes down to the details. Buyers are making a big investment, so they are going to be very picky about little things.

3. List your house online with photographs at a site like FsboAmerica.org.

4. Post flyers or ads in your local property listings magazines.

5. Put a sign on your lawn indicating you are selling.

6. On the sign post, put a box with flyers describing your home and the asking price.

7. Hold open houses for buyers to view your house.

8. Clean your house before all open houses. Add fragrant flowers to rooms, mow the lawn and so on.

9. Get rid of your junk through a garage sale and the trash. This includes cleaning out the garage and basement. Everything should be pristine.

10. Create a documented record of all the improvements you've made to the home to show potential buyers.

11. Become conversant in the offer, counteroffer process.

12. Develop a clear understanding of what happens during closing and make sure you'll be able to take care of your part.

13. Figure out what you plan to do when you sell the house, to wit, are you going to buy another house and when will you move?

While these guidelines will take you a long way, it is important you understand the specific laws of your state. Once you have those down, the process typically goes fairly smoothly. Considering you'll save thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in real estate commissions, any bumps in the road will be more than worth it.

Love at first sight is a concept that applies to the real estate market. So, what is the best house color to sell your home to a love struck buyer?

Best House Color to Sell

When you go to social events, do you make an effort to snazzy yourself up? Of course you do. The simply fact is attraction is a key factor in forming relationships and the same applies to your house. When you put the house on the market, you need to make it look good for the dates with potential buyers. The color of your house can make all the difference.

First, there is no absolutely correct answer to the best color. Instead, the decision depends on the makeup of your home and the surrounding landscape. Let's take a look at some issues:

1. Whatever color you choose, make sure it doesn't clash with the other homes in the neighborhood. An otherwise appropriate color could end up making your house an eye-sore.

2. The Roof. What color is the roof on your home? If it is a red tile roof, off-whites are probably going to be the best choice. Dark green will not. Unless you are going to invest money in a new roof, make sure the paint color doesn't clash with it.

3. Highlights. If there is a particular part of your house that should be emphasized, used light colored paint around it to draw attention.

4. Hide It! Conversely, if there are parts of the house that are mundane, use darker colors to draw attention away from them.

5. On large flat surfaces, such as the side of a garage, keep in mind the color you choose will have a washed out appearance.

Now we get to the fun part. After considering the above issues, make a preliminary list of colors and buy small cans of each color. In a private area of the house, start applying samples strokes a couple feet long and a foot or so wide. Try to paint examples in both shaded areas and those exposed to the sun.

Do not immediately judge the results of your experiments. Instead, wait a few hours for the paint to dry and then start comparing. Dry paint takes on a very different appearance than wet paint.

Once the paint is dry, take a long look at each sample. You will typically find the colors look much different than you thought they would. You may find one color is perfect or you may find something a little different would be best. Either way, you'll have come up with the best house color to sell your home.

One of the ways to make money in real estate is to move property as quickly as possible. Jumping from one home to another often leads to a double closing situation.
Three Party Closings In Real Estate

Traditional home sales involve two parties, a buyer and seller. You may, however, run into a situation where there are actually three parties involved. This can occur when you are dealing with a real estate investor. The situation essentially involves a flip of the home by your investor. Here is a closer look.

Assume you list your home for a certain price and accept an offer from a real estate investor. The investor is not really interested in owning your property. Instead, they are looking to make a profit as quickly as possible. The are also looking to move it as soon as possible to free up cash so they can invest in other properties. If they are particularly good at their job, they will often find another party to buy the home from them while they are still in escrow with you! This is where we get the three party closing.

The specifics of how three party closings occur are highly dependent upon the situation. Regardless of how it is done, the third party purchasing the property from your buyer will often submit the funds for payment of your contract. This essentially turns the investor into a middleman who is collecting a fee and profit for doing practically nothing. That being said, you will actually do two separate escrows with two completely separate sets of documents. As the seller, you will only have to deal with your transaction.

There are definite downsides to three party closings. Obviously, the more parties involved, the more chance there is something will go wrong. Three party closings can also make lenders nervous. That being said, there is often a bigger problem.

As a seller, you want to get the top price for your home. In a three party closing, you are confronted with the fact that you did not get the best price. Moreover, you agreed to such a low price that the investor was able to flip the house immediately for a profit. This situation leads to serious seller’s remorse. If you try to pull out of the deal, you can get into litigation and so on.

As a seller, there is not much you can do about a three party closing. Just try not to get to disillusioned about the situation.

Deciding to sell your home will save you thousands of dollars in realtor commissions. In exchange, you need to understand subjects such as a FSBO sales contract.
FSBO Sales Contract

Once you have decided to sell your home without going through a real estate agent, you need to take some time to develop an understanding of the process and necessary documents. First, you are not alone in making this decision. A recent survey found over 30 percent of homebuyers intend to sell their homes without an agent. Given this demand, there are now a bevy of forms available to the FSBO seller and all include a FSBO sales contract.

A FSBO sales contract is really no different than any real estate purchase contract. It contains all of the same terms and is usually called a real estate purchase agreement. A real estate transaction is the same regardless of whether you use an agent or not, so there really isn't any need for a specific FSBO sales contract.

In general, all of the required contracts and forms for a real estate transaction are purchased in a group. Typically, these documents are offered as a FSBO kit. There are different ways of obtaining them, however the internet has provided one of the easiest methods. For nearly no cost, anyone can download all of the FSBO sales contracts and other forms and agreements they will need to fill out and complete in order to be able to sell their home. Legal forms sites provide the necessary documentation.

As you have probably read on this site or in other publications, FSBO sellers are missing out on a huge opportunity if they do not take advantage of the help offered by mortgage brokers. Mortgage brokers are independent loan writers and want to do business with you. Their goal is to write the loan for the buyer of your property, so they are motivated to help you sell the home. They will provide you with all the forms you need for free and will help you with open houses and so on. This is a free resource you should definitely take advantage of. If you sell the home and they get a loan, it is a win-win situation.

When making the decision on whether to sell without an agent, many homeowners are concerned about using a FSBO sales contract or other forms. Purchase a pre-written FSBO kit and use the free services of a mortgage broker and you will be fine.

If you are selling your home without a real estate agent, FSBO, you need to realize the agents in your area are not your enemy. In fact, they may prove very useful.
Real Estate Agent - FSBO

A common mistake made when people decide to list their home for sale by owner is to assume real estate agents are to be avoided. This is a mistake for a number of reasons and can significantly hinder your efforts to sell the property. Consider the following.

A majority of buyers will use a real estate agent to locate and make offers on real estate. I am sure this is hardly a shocking revelation to you. Given this fact, many FSBO sellers make the mistake of treating real estate agents rudely. If you receive a call from an agent, you need to realize the person offering their services may be the same person that calls a week later with an interested buyer. If you burn bridges by being rude or hanging up on real estate agents, you run the risk of missing out on potential buyers.

Even if a real estate agent does not bring a buyer, they can still be of assistance to a FSBO seller. Put bluntly, the real estate agents contacting you expect you to eventually give up trying to sell your property on your own. Although incorrect, this assumption leads them to view you as a potential client down the road. The negative aspect of this is they will continually contact you. Ah, but there is a positive aspect as well.

A real estate agent that sniffs a potential client can be very helpful. To generate credibility with you, they will give you an astounding amount of help for free. Many realtors, for instance, will provide you with all the contract documentation you need for the sale and purchase transaction for the property including a purchase agreement, escrow instructions, deeds, disclosures and a list of documents you will need. Some will even go so far as to provide you with free brochures for your home. Now, does that sound like an enemy?

Make no mistake, a real estate agent will help you because they believe you will eventually become a client. You probably will not, but there is little reason to view them as an enemy in your efforts.

You hear it everywhere. The baby boomers are starting to retire. The real estate market will suffer. This hardly seems true given the real estate market outlook.
Real Estate Market Outlook

Baby boomers are those individuals born during the period from roughly 1945 to 1964. Following World War II, peace and economic prosperity occurred for roughly twenty years. Along with this came an explosion in the birth rates in the United States. This increase in birth rates created a bulge in the overall population, to wit, the baby boomer generation.

As economists and pundits look to the future, they worry about what will happen when baby boomers move out of the job market. Who will replace them? What happens to their money? Will the drain on the stock market from 401k distributions wipe out the stock market? What about real estate where baby boomers are starting to pass their peak earning years? Is everything going to crash? No.

The first reason the real estate market outlook remains positive is the boomers. They do not just disappear when they retire. Most are continuing to invest in real estate as they start receiving retirement distributions. In 2004, this fact was evidenced by the fact that of all home sales, 35 percent were for second homes. Clearly, the boomers will remain active for some time.

There is also a new generation starting to be introduced to the real estate market. While it is true that baby boomers are the largest population bulge we have seen, one has to keep in mind that the boomers had their own offspring. The second largest population bulge we have seen are these children. They are now entering there twenties and thirties, which means they are entering the real estate market as buyers – often borrowing from their parents for down payments. This also contributes to the real estate market outlook.


Immigration is a controversial subject. Regardless of your view, the undisputed evidence shows a large number of legal immigrants coming into the country since 1970. Obviously, these individuals and families represent another pool of buyers. Again, another positive factor in the real estate market outlook.

Despite the wailing of so-called experts, the real estate market outlook is positive. Real estate is still one of the best investments. Yes, there will be fluctuations, but the prophecies of doom and gloom are unsupported by the facts.

As the internet revolutionizes the real estate industry, more sellers are bypassing realtors. This raises the question of how to sell a house by owner.
How To Sell a House By Owner

Selling a house by owner, at least initially, only involves the decision to do so. Sure, later there are some extra steps, but right away it involves whether or not you decide that you want to sell it yourself. Yes, it will require additional time and work, but the dividends can be great due to the lack of real estate agent fees that you will avoid being pounded with.

Assume you sell your home for $300,000. A typical realtor commission of 6 percent will equate to a commission of $18,000. That represents a good chunk of the equity you have been building up over the years. Learning how to sell your house by owner can avoid such a loss of wealth.

Once you’ve decided that you want to take the path of selling a house by owner, begin to do the steps necessary to spice up the house. Clean it up both on the outside and inside. The outside is something people often forget about, but curb appeal is extremely important. First impression means a lot. When the potential buyers first drive up, they want to see an attractive house in front of them.

When the outside looks appealing, focus on the inside and have everything cleaned and spiffy. Impress your potential buyers. Carpets should be cleaned, paint touched up and so on. You want the home to have a new, well cared for appearance. This is particularly true if your home is an older structure. Remember, the buyer is trying to picture themselves living in the property. Give it the once over. Then ask a friend to walk through and point out problems spots. Fix them and then prepare to list your home for sale.

Once the home is ready to go, you need to do exactly what you are doing now – use the internet. A vast majority of homeowners now sit and click at their desk when looking for real estate. This evolution has been bad for real estate agents, but great for people selling their own homes. In fact, over 30 percent of homeowners now intend to sell on their own when it is time to do so. As the internet continues to evolve, this number will only grow higher.

If you really want to know how to sell a house by owner, there are three words you have to focus on – free, photographs and information. Free refers to a free listing on a site such as this one where you get the first 30 days. Photographs refer to the fact you must upload digital photographs of the exterior and interior of your home so that buyers can see what you are offering. Information refers the fact you should upload as much information as possible on your home including age, unique features and so on. Focus on these three steps and you will be on your way.

The question of how to sell a house by owner is answered fairly easily. Spiff it up and use the internet to reach buyers.

When selling your home, you have to get the word out to buyers in the area. The Internet is a great method for doing that, but open house street signs work incredibly well.
Open House Street Signs

Part of the selling process for a home is conducting open houses. Many sellers cringe at the idea, but having an open house viewing is vital. Sooner or later, you have to let buyers actually walk though the house. Consider it a necessary evil, but it is the single best way to find a buyer. Indeed, the process is so important that many sellers now employee home staging professionals to whip their houses into shape before the showing.

Part and parcel to an open house are open house street signs. Are they tacky? Yes. Do you really need to put them up all over the neighborhood? Yes. Do they work? Yes! Open house street signs are simply critical when it comes to getting buyers to your home.

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Once you have committed to conducting an open house for potential buyers, you need to get the word out. While there are lots of interesting strategies to do this, tradition carries the day in this area with basic open house signs. So, where do you get them and where do you post them.

You can purchase open house street signs at most hardware stores including Home Depot, Lowes or your favorite place to buy supplies for weekend projects. Do not buy one. You want to canvas your area with multiple signs, so plan how many you need before going to the store.

The number and placement of signs is entirely dependent on your neighborhood. Obviously, you want to place them on the corners on both ends of your street. Make sure to ask neighbors if this okay to avoid any nasty comments.

In addition to your street, you want to place signs on the corners of any major intersections around your neighborhood. If you just place signs on your street, you are limiting your exposure. You want to sell the home, which means you need to get the signs out where lots of people will see them. This means major intersections as far as five or six blocks away.

Marketing homes for sale has been revolutionized over the last few years. Open house street signs, however, are still the best way to get word out in your

When it comes to real estate, everyone is looking for an edge. Here are some feng shui tips to sell your home fast.
Feng Shui Tips to Sell Your Home Fast

Selling a home is always a trying task. It takes time, effort, and patience. But, indeed, there are certain steps that can be taken to possibly help the process go a bit faster or to raise the value of the home. Presenting a clean, well-landscaped home is a good start. Listing on the Internet is also critical. Pricing, of course, is critical, to wit, know what other homes in your area are listed for and set yours accordingly. An increasingly popular trend some people are looking to for a quick sale is the practice of feng shui.

Pronounced “fung-schway”, feng shui is a Chinese discipline that translates as “wind-water”. It is a discipline that focuses on the art of placement, whether for small items in a room or entire structures such as commercial high rises. The goal is to incorporate the patterns of nature and their accompanying energy into our lives in a positive manner or to obtain a desired result. It is a discipline that has gained more and more popularity in the Western world as globalization has spread.

One of the first steps to take when considering feng shui as part of the sale of your home is the history. Have you or previous owners lived in the property for a substantial amount of time. If not, you need to have an explanation for any buyer who is in tune with feng shui. Short histories accompanied with bad events such as financial problems are a sign of bad energy.

The next tip is the landscaping. If possible, the back of the home should have more landscaping then the front. This offers support from the back and is something you can usually handle. Ideally, further support is offered in the form of the tortoise by a significant, grounded structure behind your property. Alas, there is not much you can do in this regard.

The energy flowing to your home must flow freely. If you have a narrow, straight path from the street to your door, the energy does not flow freely. Winding, wide paths are superior, but plants and pottery can help as well if cost is an issue.

I like circular staircases and think that add to the attractiveness of a home. From a feng shui perspective, however, they are associated with negative energy. If they exist in the home you are trying to sell, place a crystal at the top to balance out the flow.

Feng shui tips to sell your home fast are entirely dependent upon the specifics of your home. Overall, you are looking for balance in the property. To get specific recommendations for your home, you should bring in a feng shui consultant.

The decision to buy a home is often dependent upon the first impression of the buyer. Staging a home for sale is one way to make sure that first impression is a great one.
Staging a Home for Sale

Imagine you have always wanted to work in a particular job for a particular company. After years of education, you have finally received an interview for the position. How are you going to present yourself at the interview? Are you going to wear jeans? A t-shirt? Of course, not. You are going to get out your best professional outfit, go get a haircut and so on. Why? You want to make the best first impression available.

Selling a home is no different that going for a job interview or a first date. You must spiff up your home so it makes a great impression on potential buyers. For many buyers, the decision to purchase a home is an emotional one. Recognizing this fact, you want to make it love at first site. This issue is so important that an entire industry has evolved to help you do so.


The home staging industry is exactly what it sounds like. A person comes in and reviews your home from an objective perspective. They will then reorganize the home to make it more buyer friendly. They often will ask you to leave before doing this so they can get the job done without objections.

You must let a home staging professional do their job. They are going to help sell your home. They will organize the home in a manner that facilitates this. You, on the other hand, have organized the home in a manner that makes it livable for you. The two goals are very different and you must realize as much.

Once you make the decision to sell a home, your personal tastes are no longer relevant. You will suffer less if you can come to grips with the fact the home is emotionally no longer yours the moment you decide to sell, not when escrow closes. From the moment you make that decision, the property is no longer where you live. It is an asset to be sold for as much money as possible and as fast as possible. You must learn to let go.

Home staging is a relatively knew professional service. If it is available in your area, you would be wise to give it a try.

Every homeowner is looking for quick ways to sell a house. It is just a fact of life and to be expected. Of course, the real question is how you achieve your goal!
Quick Ways To Sell a House

Once you decide to sell your house, you want to move it quickly. That may sound like an assumption on my part, but I have yet to meet a seller who wanted to wait months and months before accepting an offer. Admittedly, they are probably out there, but you are not one.

So, let's cut to the chase with the following tips on quick ways to sell a house.

1. Don't worry about major upgrades. This can be expensive and time intensive. Worry about quick changes that will make major visual improvements. We are talking touch up paint and landscaping.

2. As moronic as it sounds, clean your house! And the garage! And the side of the house you haven't visited in a few years! And the closets! And the garage again! Have the carpets professionally cleaned. Heck, have the entire home professionally cleaned. You want to aim for the look of a model home in a new development.

3. If you have children, a battle may be required. I am talking about their rooms, the place where few parents are willing to tread. Posters on the wall come down. Now. Beds made, clothes in the hamper. Yes, the closets must even be organized. I fully realize this may sound like Mission Impossible IV, but it must be done. Threats and bribery are highly recommended to achieve the desired results!

4. If you have pets, they belong outside. No, I am not against pets. The issue is their hair on the carpet?the couch...and so on.

5. Smell is one of our senses that figure into our impressions more than we realize. If you are going to be showing the home, get flowers, candles or cook something mouthwatering before the potential buyer arrives.

The above represent common sense tips on quick ways to sell a house. They will help you close that deal, but there is one area that is the key to really moving a house quickly - the price.

The quickest way to sell a house is to list it below similar homes for sale in your area. It is that simple. Buyers are looking for a steal. Generally, this translates into buying the cheapest house on the block with the intention of upgrading it and reaping equity gains. Some get around to the upgrades, some do not. Regardless of the condition of your home, the key to moving it is price.

See, there are quick ways of selling a house. Most of the steps are based on common sense. As to setting a price, you want to be below the homes in your area. How far below depends on how quickly you want to move the property.

As the real estate market returns to a normal pattern of buying and selling, some sellers are easily frustrated. If your house is not selling, here some tips for selling a house.
Tips for Selling a House

Selling a house is similar to a job interview or a first date. Presentation tends to go a long way in determining the outcome. That might sound a bit shallow, but it is simply a fact of life in many endeavors including real estate. To this end, sellers have developed bad habits when it comes to selling their house because of the recent hot seller's market. A few basic tips for selling a house can get you back on track.

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Most real estate comes with a garage. If you have lived in the property for any amount of time, you have undoubtedly stored numerous things in your garage. I have! When the time comes to sell your property, however, you need to give your garage the once over. Items you consider priceless heirlooms might be considered junk by buyers. A messy garage is also a negative. Remember, buyers expect you to have the house in pristine condition. Anything that does not reflect that will hurt you in the eyes of these individuals.

Undoubtedly, your house has some amazing interior features. Instead of just assuming the potential buyer understands the value of them, you should highlight the features. The best method for doing this is lighting. Make sure you have sufficient lighting in the relevant area by opening drapes or going with more powerful light bulbs. If you have beautiful marble flooring and counters in your kitchen, make sure there is sufficient lighting to make them stand out.

Your lawn is the first thing a potential buyer is going to see when they pull up to the property. Keep it trimmed and cut back any jungles. Give some thought to the walkway to the front door. Planting flowers and such can go a long way.


Make sure the entrance is a positive aspect of your house, not a negative. Make sure the front door is in perfect shape. The entry area should also be focused on. Add plants, rugs and what have you to make a good impression. Next, walk in through the front door and take in the view. Is there anything that gives you pause and can be improved? If so, do it!

Declutter, clean, and organize all storage areas.

The real estate market has cooled to the extent that houses are not selling in three days anymore. Three months is more nearly the norm in many areas. Returning to the basic fundamentals of selling a house is the key to getting the offer you need. These tips for selling a house should help.

When closing costs are discussed, it is almost always in the orientation of the buyer. So, what closing costs as a seller are you responsible for?
Closing Costs As a Seller

Closing costs can be significant and scary for home buyers and sellers. However, the good news for those looking to sell their homes is that most fees are transferred over to the buyers. Although this matter has to be negotiated and agreed upon between the buyer and seller, standard operating procedure is for the buyer to pick up the costs. If nothing else, this assures the buyer that they are getting objective opinions in inspections and such.

This traditional approach can save many sellers quite a bit of money. On average, buyers pay between two and seven percent of the total sale price of the home in closing costs. The more the home costs, obviously the more the buyer will be paying. When it comes to paying closing costs as a seller, however, many homeowners are surprised by what they have to pay out.

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Far and away, the biggest cost is the realtor commissions of five to seven percent, and that is the primary reason why so many people are selling on their own. On a $300,000 home, such a commission would equate to a fee of between $15,000 and $21,000. That is a lot of money, and for what? With over 70 percent of buyers now looking to the Internet, not realtor MLSs, for prospective properties, paying a commission as a seller no longer remotely makes sense. Sell your home fsbo, and your closing costs drop like a rock in a lake.

In addition to realtor commissions, there are other incidental closing costs you have to pay as a seller, although not all of these may apply given your location. Potential closing costs can include attorney fees, survey fees, recorded release of your own mortgage on the home, various insurances, local, state, and federal taxes, and transfer taxes charged by your state, city or county. Mortgage brokers or realtors in your area can help you with the specifics, and you don't have to retain them. They consider you a lead and are happy to help for free. You will probably feel constrained to listen politely to their sales pitches, however.

Paying closing costs as a seller can be aggravating. You tend to feel like you are throwing away part of your hard earned equity in the home. That being said, there isn't much you can do to avoid them.

The biggest issue many homeowners face when listing their house for sale is the price. You want to get the most you can, but be careful when it comes to pricing it too high.
Listing Your Property At The Top of the Market

For no particular reason, you have picked up the itch to sell your house. Maybe there are developments in your area that have caused massive appreciation and you simply want to cash out while the going is good. Maybe you just are interested to see what someone will pay.

In making the decision to sell, you do the research to find out what comparable homes in the area are selling for and how long it takes them to sell. You decide to list your property at the top of the market because you have serious upgrades and the research shows comparable homes are moving pretty quickly. While you may be willing to wait a bit for an offer, you run a risk of sabotaging yourself.

Time is a two way street in the real estate industry. While you are probably not particularly interested in waiting a long time to move the property, buyers are considering time as well. Specifically, they are wondering why so much time has passed since your home was first listed. Is it an indication that there is something wrong with the property? Many potential buyers will start to think so. If you price the property at the top of the comparable market, you run this risk and selling becomes very difficult.

One justification many sellers make for picking a high price are upgrades done to the property. In many scenarios, this is logical and makes practical sense. That being said, you may be in for a nasty surprise. Most buyers prefer to make the upgrades themselves, not pay a premium for what you have done. Ultimately, this means the higher price may find little interest because the value of the upgrades is ignored by the potential buyers. This can also lead to the frustrating situation wherein you realize you spent more money on upgrades than you will ever get out of the property. Ouch.

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The final risk associated with pricing your property at the top of the market is the potential it will be ignored. The general rule in real estate for buyers is to purchase the lowest priced home in an area and then fix it up. With minor changes, appreciation gains can be significant. If your home is already at the top of the market, a buyer really cannot do this and will actually have to wait for other properties in the area to appreciate. Savvy or even moderately knowledgeable buyers will not take the bait.

Pricing your property for sale is a trick issue. Figure out your market and make your own conclusions. To maximize profit, it is best to be in the middle of the market, but always below other homes that are superior to your property.

Selling your house without a realtor is a growing trend these days. The influence of the Internet, use of forms, and desire to avoid thousands of dollars in realtor commissions are the reasons.
Selling Your House Without a Realtor

Despite popular belief, selling your house without a realtor is much easier than people try to crack it up to be. Real estate agents try to scare you into thinking that you won't be able to sell your house without a realtor, but in reality they just don't want to lose the big commission they'd receive for their services. Selling your house without a realtor is actually a viable option that every homeowner looking to sell should consider. In fact, more and more are doing it every day.

Realtors are not known for providing their services for cheap. Consider your home and the price at which you are thinking of listing it. If you intend to sell it for $200,000, a realtor's commission will be $12,000 based on the usual six percent commission. A sales price of $300,000 raises the commission to $18,000 while $400,000 results in a whopping $24,000 commission. Are you really willing to throw away large chunks of your equity on such "services?" You should not be.

If you are trying to decide whether you should be selling your house without a realtor, there is something you should know. Over 70 percent of homebuyers now look to the Internet to find properties. You don't need a realtor to list your property on the net. In fact, we let you list a property for free for the first 30 days and then a whopping $25 a month thereafter. Hmmm, free to $25, or $12,000 to $24,000 in commissions? The answer seems fairly straightforward to me.

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One of the issues sellers get nervous about is documentation. Again, this shouldn't be a concern. The documents used in the sale of a property are all pre-printed forms. A realtor doesn't provide a great deal of expertise in this area. Their knowledge pretty much runs to the extent of knowing that certain forms are required. Sounds like a nominal amount of knowledge in exchange for a six percent commission. In truth, you can head to any office supply store and buy a FSBO kit that has everything you need, or you can get a how-to book for your state in a bookstore, or you can use a link from a page on our site that goes into the issue of real estate forms in more depth at http://www.fsboamerica.org/Real-Estate-Forms.cfm.

The real key to selling your house without a realtor is the Internet. Specifically, you want a site like ours that is designed to facilitate FSBO listings. The key to using our site successfully is to provide information and photographs. You should think of your listing as a personals advertisement on a dating site. Provide plenty of information regarding the property and as many pictures as possible. Potential buyers want to see what is being offered, not guess at euphemistic real estate phrases like "cozy." Remember, over 70 percent of buyers now look to the Internet for properties. Give them what they want and you will do fine.

Selling your house without a realtor may sound a bit intimidating at first, but thousands of people do it every day. The key is to getting a basic understanding of the process, price your home appropriately and list it with photographs on the net. Follow these steps and you will save a bundle on real estate agent commissions.

Deciding to sell your home is not an easy event. Once you have made the decision, there are a few steps you need to follow to make it go smoothly.
Steps To Consider When You Decide To Sell Your Home

If you are thinking about selling your home, there are a lot of issues that come to the forefront. Once you decide questions like whether it is a good time to sell, the amount of money you will get, where you will move and so on, there are less obvious steps you need to take.

Part of the process in determining whether to sell your home is a review of your current situation. In this case, we are talking about your home loan. You need to determine two things. First, what is the balance on the loan and will the sale price be sufficient to pay it off. The second factor is less obvious, to wit, you need to determine if there are any penalty clauses written in to your mortgage for an early sale. Some loans have draconian penalties, which will stop you in your tracks immediately.

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If you are selling your home, you need to find another place to live. This sounds obvious, but many people leave the process to the last minute which adds unnecessary stress to the situation. If you intend to immediately buy another home, you need to sit down with a mortgage loan officer and get pre-approved for another purchase. Selling and buying a home at the same time can be hectic, so definitely get pre-approved to make everything go as smoothly as possible. If you intend to rent for a bit, make sure you find a place and that it has enough space for your stuff. If it does not, rent a storage facility and start moving things in now.

The third issue is timing. Specifically, you need to determine how long it takes for homes to sell in your area. You next need to determine how that time frame fits into your plan. If you need a quicker sell, your home needs to be offered at a lower price. If you can afford to wait, then you can price it a bit higher and sell on specific benefits the property has that others do not.

Selling a home is not as easy as simply deciding to do it. By following these steps, however, you should smooth out the process.

If you are considering selling your property, you need some selling home tips. In this case, we are going to focus on taking photographs of your property for listings.
Selling Home Tips

I love reading National Geographic to see the amazing photographs of far off places I will probably never visit. I consistently play the lotto, but one has to be realistic. Regardless, the photographs are works of art and I often find myself wishing I could go to the location in the photograph. This is true even though I had no knowledge of the place until I saw the photograph and probably would have blanched had anyone suggested such a trip. This is the power of a good photograph and the most important of all selling home tips.

Photographs of properties in marketing materials should inspire the same type of response from homebuyers. Make no mistake about it, your photographs represent the first impression, known as curb appeal, the buyer will have of your property. Given this fact, it is vital that your photographs present the best aspects of your property. Simply walking out to the curb and firing off a couple snapshots is a mistake of the highest order. Don't do it!

At this point, you should consider using a professional photographer. They understand issues such as lighting, bordering, spacing and angles. Trust me, they are worth every penny.

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Assuming you are going to shoot the pictures yourself, consider the following selling home tips:

1. Lighting is critical. First, make sure there is enough light to detail what you are shooting. On the other hand, try to avoid situations where the entire picture is to bright. Strategic shadows in a corner can add definition and the impression of uniqueness.

2. If you have a view, make sure to take a picture of it. If the view can be seen from inside the home, make sure the photograph shows as much by taking it from the interior. You want the photograph to contain some evidence that the view can be seen from inside.

3. When it comes to the front of your home, don't take a flat picture. A flat picture is when you shoot the home dead on. Stand off to one side or the other to give it some definition.

4. On interior shoots, add props to the room such as flowers. Make sure drapes and so on are positioned in an attractive manner. Hide all cords. Really hide all pets!

5. Experiment with angles. Taking pictures of your home is not a task to be done as quickly as possible. Take as many photographs as possible and then pick out the best. This is what professional photographers do.

Taking photographs of your property is hardly a difficult task. That being said, if you put a bit of thought and effort into it, you can make your listing stand out from the others on the market.

People have the attention span of a gnat, a fact that is true for homebuyers as well. To overcome this, you must have FSBO marketing materials to grab their attention.
FSBO Marketing

Buying a property involves a lot of looking, which can be tiring and confusing. It is the rare day indeed when a homebuyer snatches up the first property they see. Instead, they tend to look at dozens or more if for no other reason than to assure themselves that they have not missed out on that one, golden opportunity.

This Easter egg hunt mentality can result in buyers passing by a home that is actually perfect for their needs. After three or four weeks, they will start thinking about the home and realize as much. As a seller of the home in question, this doesn’t really help you unless they can recall the specifics of the location or contact information for your property, a dubious assumption.

One of the best ways to circumvent this problem is to make sure every potential buyer leaves your property with your FSBO marketing materials in hand. In the real estate business, said FSBO marketing materials usually consist of either a brochure, a folder of information or some type of flyer. Regardless of the specific format, the important thing is to make sure they have something in hand.

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Your FSBO marketing materials absolutely must contain some basic items. First and foremost, you need to include pictures of your property. Images are the key to memory when it comes to real estate. A buyer may forget about the home, but see the flier under a pile of paperwork a few weeks later and realize it was the best listing of the bunch. Whatever you do, include photographs.

From a practical side, you need to also include some basic information. This includes information such as the address, listed price, number of rooms and bathrooms, special features, square footage, and information on the positive aspects of the area if relevant.

Ironically, many people fail to include contact information. Don’t be one of them! Include a phone number and email address if you can.

Homebuyers tend to get overwhelmed when it comes to the sheer volume of properties they look at. Make sure to stick your FSBO marketing materials in their hands and they may just realize what a prize your property is compared to other listings.

The decision to sell a home is more complex then many people first realize. One of the primary issues is the real estate housing market and how it will impact the sale of the property.
Real Estate Housing Market

People sell their homes for a variety of reasons. In some cases, the sale is involuntary due to issues that arise in every day life such as a job-related transfer, divorce and financial problems. For a vast majority of people, however, the decision to sell is made under less trying circumstances. If you fall into this category, determining the nature of the real estate market in your area is a critical step to take.

When determining the real estate housing market in a particular area, the central issue is what kind of a market is present? There are two types, the seller's market and the buyer's market. Each market has particular characteristics and will impact how much time and money will be involved in your selling effort.

A seller's market is one where there are more buyers than properties being listed in the real estate housing market. It is no secret that the United States has been in one of the hottest seller's markets ever seen for the last seven years, but it is really starting to cool off. This doesn't mean, however, that the national trend reflects the situation in your particular area. If your area is still red hot, you are in the cat bird's seat. You can list your home with a high price for your area and still reasonably expect to get offers.

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A buyer's market is one where there are more listings than buyers in the real estate housing market. In such a situation, homes tend to sit on the market for substantial amounts of time. Many parts of the country, such as Texas and Colorado in general, have historically been buyers markets. For some reason, these two states never really benefits from the massive seller's market push the last few years.

Anyway, if you are in a buyer's market, you need to determine two things. First, do you have sufficient equity in your home to make selling it at a competitive price a worthwhile decision? Second, would it perhaps be better to wait a few years until the market falls in your favor? Unless there is a compelling reason to sell, many homeowners will wait out buyer's markets. If there is a compelling reason, you need to price your home near the bottom of the market for comparable homes in your area to get a quick sale. If it is any comfort, you should be able to turn around and find a good deal in your area as a buyer.

At times, the real estate process can be a confusing one for buyers and sellers. If you take the steps to determine your real estate housing market before making a specific decision, you will be better off.

Most people look to comps in their area to come up with the listing price for their property. This is logical, but you also have to focus on the bottom line.
How Much Will You Make on The Sale of Your Property?

It happens more often than you might imagine. A homeowner decides to sell and goes about figuring the best price to sell. They may set a price off of the cuff or do research to ascertain the best price that will result in a sale within a specific time period. What many do not take into account, however, is the ultimate amount the will get from the property. This can lead to brutal surprises when the ultimate amount is much less than expected – a concept known as seller’s remorse.

In reality, the decision to sell your property should only be made after determining what you can objectively get out of it. Most people, however, tend to eyeball this amount. If you have a lot of equity in the property, it really is not an issue. If you don’t, you better start calculating or you could be in for a bad shock.


The first place to start is the estimated price you will sell for minus the outstanding balance on your mortgage. This gives you a rough estimate of your equity, but should not be relied upon as the final cash out figure. Instead, you have to sit down and start calculating the other costs such as:

1. Mortgage pre-payment penalties,

2. Property taxes for the portion of the relevant year in which you are selling.

3. Any costs associated with repairs to the property to get it in shape to sell.

4. Attorney’s fees if a lawyer is required to be part of the process in your state.

5. Incidental costs associated with the sale as agreed to in the purchase agreement with the buyer. Items can include title insurance premiums, recording fees, inspection fees, warranty insurance, escrow fees and so on.

One area people completely forget to factor in is, ironically, the biggest expense. If you use a real estate agent, you are going to pay a significant commission. A typical 6 percent commission on the sale of a $300,000 home is $18,000. More and more sellers are bypassing this by selling their properties without agents, which makes sense given the money involved. Regardless, you need to ascertain how you will sell the home and the relevant cost of doing so as part of your overall calculation.

Making the decision to sell is an emotional one. It should, however, also include a hard, cold look at the financials involved and whether doing so makes sense.

A recent survey revealed that approximately 30 percent of homeowners intend to sell without a real estate agent. I bet more would if they didn't fear the FSBO real estate contract.
FSBO Real Estate Contract

It is undisputed that you can save tens of thousands of dollars by selling your home without an agent. Typical commission fees charged by an agent equal six percent of the sales price. On a $300,000 home, the fee of the real estate agent equates to $18,000 dollars. That is a lot of money you are leaving on the table.

FSBO Real Estate Forms

If a seller can save so much money by foregoing an agent, why don't more people do it? Simply put, they are scared of the process. In particular, real estate contracts can be a scary issue for most homebuyers. How do you know if you are doing it correctly? What if you don't? Will you lose the home? Will there be lawsuits? Frankly, most people have nightmares about the idea of dealing with these issues. This need not be.

First off, most real estate agents do not know anything more than you do about contracts. They are in the business of selling real estate, not being legal experts. Moreover, most real estate contracts are of the pre-printed form variety. All and all, you need not be overly concerned with this issue. Of course, it isn't my property.

There is a very simple way to get around the stress associated with dealing with real estate contracts and documents. The answer is found in the legal field. Specifically, you can hire a real estate lawyer to handle everything. You will get a legal professional that is one your side and who knows the details of the real estate process inside out. Frankly, they are a heck of a lot more competent than real estate agents when it comes to the transaction.



Ah, but isn't it true that attorneys are incredibly expensive? Well, yes. In this case, however, they are much less expensive than paying a six percent commission to a real estate agent. Keep in mind our example above where we are paying a realtor $18,000 in commissions. Most attorneys charge in the $200 an hour range. If it takes 20 hours to handle the transaction, which is probably on the high end, you are looking at $4,000 in legal fees. In practical terms, you get much better advice and save $14,000 on commissions. In such a scenario, hiring legal counsel absolutely makes sense. Frankly, I am surprised more people do not do so.

The biggest barrier to selling a home by owner is often the fear of the FSBO real estate contract. Follow the above advice and you should have no problems.

Ask most coaches in professional sports what sets the best teams from the also rans and they will say sweating the details. The following selling your home tips are all about details.
Selling Your Home Tips

In many areas of the country, neighborhoods are built in collective groups. Ostensibly, this means there are other properties in your area, maybe a lot, that are very similar to yours. While you may like or dislike this fact, it does raise the issue of how do you make yours stand out when selling your home?

My friend, the key is in the details. There are a wide variety of little steps that can make your property stick out in the mind of potential buyers. Remember the key is to make your property appear better than the others, even if it is just a bit.

Closing or settlement is the time when everything comes together on the transaction. This is when final papers are signed and there is no turning back. Frankly, it can be a bit stressful and nerve wracking. If you are flexible on closing dates and such, then let buyers know in your marketing material and open houses. First time buyers may not appreciate the offer, but experience buyers will.

Buyers often wait with nervous patience for home inspections to be done. While they may love your property, they are usually wise enough to know they need to rely on a professional inspection to make sure the fundamentals are in order. One way to make your property stand out from the crowd is to get your own inspection done by a certified home inspector. You should then include this fact in any marketing materials and hand out copies of the inspection when showing the property. Doing so is a major step in building credibility and making buyers comfortable with your property. It screams that your property is in good shape and has been taken care of.

Taking little steps is the key to moving your property while others in your neighborhood sit around. If you can handle the above selling your home tips, do so and make sure to include the information in both your marketing material and handouts during open houses or showings.

Your home may be a great place to rear a family or just live. The problem, of course, is a buyer does not know that. This means creating curb appeal is important.
Creating Curb Appeal

Love at first sight is a cliché, but it has an underlying truth to it as do most clichés. The simple fact is we are an emotional species. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we always form a first impression of everything we come in contact with. That impression may be conscious or subconscious. The undisputed fact, however, is our first impression determines any subsequent decisions a majority of the time. If you are selling a property, you must accept the fact and work on creating curb appeal for your property.

As a seller, it is vital that you understand a buyer's first impression of your home is everything. If the first impression is not good, the buyer will move on. It is as simple as that. There are two areas where you are going to make a first impression, so let's take a closer look at them.

Obviously, one area is when a buyer first comes to see the property. The minute they drive up your street, they are evaluating. They are looking at all the homes, not just yours. As a result, it is important that your home looks as good as it can compared to those around you. This means you need to have the landscaping in excellent shape. Remove dead plants, edge the lawn, fertilize everything, rake up leaves and so on. If you have a driveway, you should have it cleaned before showing the property. Keep garage doors closed. When it comes to creating curb appeal, the list is endless. Essentially, you want to focus on making it look like a model in a new development.

A less obvious area where creating curb appeal is an issue is with photographs of a home. Over 70 percent of homebuyers now do their initial shopping on the Internet. If you are not listed on a site, you need to be. Regardless, the key to your web listing will be the photographs. Upload as many as you can, but make sure they look great. Avoid dark, unappealing pictures at all costs. The process is like a dating site. The buyer will be pointing and clicking through a lot of properties, so take some time with your photographs. You may even want to incur the expense of a professional photographer.

One of the best ways to evaluate your property is to ask others to look at it and offer suggestions. Friends can be a good choice, but you must make clear to them that you want only critical comments. To this end, you need to brace yourself for such comments. Don't ask for their help and then get angry when they give it.

The key to selling your home is creating curb appeal. If you make the efforts, buyers will be impressed and far more likely to make an offer.

Once you decide to sell your house, you need to realize it evolves from your residence into a product. Preparing the house to sell is the first step.
Preparing House To Sell

Most sellers make the mistake of assuming the way they live in a house is a good atmosphere in which to conduct a sale. It is not. Homebuyers are not looking for a house in which you, the seller, seem comfortable. They are looking for a property in which THEY will feel comfortable and can envision themselves settling down in. This may sound like a minor distinction, but it is actually very large. If you can wrap your mind around this fact, you will have a much better selling experience.

First and foremost, you must understand that people have different tastes when preparing your house to sell. The particular chandelier or aspect of your home, which is unique, may seem appealing to you, but not to buyers. Emotionally, you must be prepared for buyers to make rude comments regarding aspects you might cherish. Remember, it is a product to be sold and nothing else. If they don’t have taste, that is their problem. On the other hand, they could be the buyers of the property you are trying to sell, which is your problem. Remember that when you are about to make a snide remark.

In preparing a house to sell, it makes sense to address a few issues to avoid any problems.

1. Clean up closets – sellers look.
2. Clean up garages – sellers consider it a sign of how you took care of the home. 3. Clean the refrigerator – make it spotless. We are talking surgical room spotless. 4. Same goes for the oven.
5. If you have an attic, clean and organize it. Buyers will look everywhere.
6. Make sure all light bulbs work.
7. Fertilize the yard a few weeks before listing the home.
8. Repair leaky faucets.
9. Consider replacing worn or old fixtures.
10. Clean the windows.

Again, the goal is not to show a home you enjoy living in. The goal is to show a home they buyer could be comfortable living in. You are shooting, as much as possible, for that new home look.

In the real estate business, you need to take steps to make your home stand out from those around you. Here are some thoughts on perks that get buyers interested.
Perks That Get Buyers To Make Offers

From the perspective of the average buyer, hunting for that perfect home is both exciting and excruciating. Even with the advent of real estate sites on the Internet, buyers spend an inordinate amount of time looking at homes that simply do not fit their vision. Once they find a good area, they face the task of deciding between homes. In our modern society, developments tend to have one, two or maybe three styles of homes. These styles are repeated over and over with the only real difference possibly being landscaping.

In such a situation, you need some advantage over comparable homes in the area. There is a reason they are called “comps”, and it can be difficult for buyers to make a decision. Given similar homes and prices, they may decide on the interior décor even though it will go with the seller! To make you home stand out just a bit, which could be critical, consider offering the following perks when possible.

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Overall, you want to offer flexibility. If you are up front with it, buyers tend to view you in a better light. Offer to go with a fast or slow closing depending on their particular needs. If they have not lined up financing, offer to put them in touch with your mortgage representative. Heck, offer to let them store stuff in the garage while closing occurs since they are probably stressed about moving at the same time as wrapping up the purchase.

An area where you can really stand out from the crowd is an allowance. A buyer is committing to a large amount of debt to purchase your home. Inevitably, they will nitpick over various aspects they are not crazy about. Instead of fighting with them, offer them a cash allowance at the end of closing that can be used to fix whatever is bugging them. Obviously, you need to be careful about how much you offer them, but it can be the difference between getting an offer or not.

When selling your home, try to be flexible wherever you can. If you offer a few perks, your property will stand out from the others around you.

To market your property, you are going to need to have some choice photographs. Before whipping out the camera, however, you need to give some thought to the process.
Why Photographs for Your Listing Are Important

One of the most important things that will set your property out from others is photographs. When a buyer is looking in a local MLS, on the internet, or in some other location, photographs draw their attention. Is this shallow? Well, yes and no.

Unless you are talking to a lawyer or psychiatrist, words are cheap. Indeed, the real estate world has its own lexicon of terms that don't really mean what they say and are the basis for some snide remarks. For instance, a "cozy" home is a real estate methodology for saying a property is SMALL! The question, of course, is how small are we talking? This is why photographs are key to your marketing efforts.

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In the view of most buyers, the initial proof in the pudding is in photographs. Almost nobody really believes any of the adjectives used in real estate advertisements. Frankly, they words could mean anything. Much like a dating site, however, photographs tend to shed a more objective light on the subject. Unlike a dating site, a property doesn't tend to dramatically age over five years, change hair color, go bald or gain some unwanted pounds. Put in practical terms, buyers don't believe your words, but do believe your photographs.

If you give some thought to what I just said, you will realize that I am suggesting that most buyers assume you will lie about your property in advertisements. Don't take it personally. They don't know you, so why should they trust you? Frankly, they should not. That being said, you can use this distrust to your advantage.

You would be shocked how many people put little or no effort into the photographs of their property. As an old commercial slogan stated - Image is everything. A shallow statement, but true. Your photographs represent the first curb appeal impression buyers will get of your property.

This means you need to strongly consider hiring a professional photographer to take the photographs. They understand lighting, angles and so on. It may sound like an unnecessary expense, but it can be the difference between a sale and sitting on the market for month after month.

An alternative is to take LOTS of photos and try all sorts of angles. Usually interiors look best when only two walls show in any photo, and more of one wall shows than the other. Be sure to get everything that's architectually interesting -- fireplace, Paladian windows, fish pool, etc. If you need 15 photos, take 100 and choose the best.

The real estate market has slowed down. If you are going to sell, you will be selling your home in a slow market.
Selling Your Home in a Slow Market

Whether you are selling your home yourself or working with a realtor, the answer is the same. Go back to marketing basics. We’ll look at things you can do for yourself if you’re selling as a fsbo (for sale by owner). If you’re wording with a realtor, you need to interview to find one who will do the sorts of things we’ll talk about here.

Start with getting your home in first class shape. Then price it realistically.

Begin your marketing by putting up a “for sale” sign. About 10 percent of sales come from this source in a slow market. It’s not like the days when one put up a sign and buyers came in droves, but it is still worth doing. Lowes and Home Depot both sell inexpensive signs. Get one and install it.

Upload your property to one or more Internet multiple listing sites for fsbo properties. Choose one that encourages adding photos to listings. The more photos the better. Buyers love pictures. Make sure the site doesn’t have a bunch of listings that have already been sold. Buyers get put off by sites where every property they call about has already been sold. Find a site that gives your property its own web address.

Don’t forget lead in signs. These are signs indicating there is a house for sale with arrows on them. They can be placed at intersections to point people from a busy street through the turns necessary to get to your home. Lowes and Home Depot have these too.

Classified ads in your local newspaper are a good idea. You can include a reference to your online listing. That can give you more mileage from the pictures you uploaded.

Brochures are a good idea, too. Put a brochure box out at the front of your property, and keep some indoors for the folks who tour your home. You can probably print an adequate brochure from your Internet listing. If you’re good at it, you can make up your own magazine spread style brochure.

Brochures are useful in several ways. They make it easy for the people who just notice the sign or come in following the lead-in signs to learn more about your property. If they like what they see, they are apt to make an appointment to see your home in person. Be sure your brochure contains contact information such as your phone number and perhaps your email address.

Brochures for people who tour your property will help them remember it. People shopping for a home usually look at lots of properties. After a while they get confused about what they have seen. Your brochure with photos will help them remember your home. That’s a good thing because people are unlikely to write a contract offer on a home they can’t remember well.

Are there bulletin boards at work or your place of worship? Put up a one page flyer or copies of your brochure if you can get permission. After all, the location of your home must be reasonably convenient to those places. What about bulletin boards in the grocery store where you shop, at your dry cleaners, in the drug store you frequent?

The point is don’t do just one thing. Use your head. Put out as many marketing ambassadors for your home as you can figure out how to. The truth is people don’t really sell homes. What they do is bring them to the attention of enough people who are shopping for a home that a buyer inevitably emerges. Selling your home in a slow market will not be a problem if you present it to enough potential buyers.

If you own a home, you may be considering selling or refinancing it. Before you take any steps in this regard, you need to ask "Whats my home worth?"

What's My Home Worth

Figuring out the value of a home involves calculating a number of factors. It can get a bit overwhelming, but I will explain it below. If you prefer to let someone else do it, you can get your home worth immediately online by clicking the following link. This is the company mortgage lenders use to get reports on the value of homes. Yes, the actual report. Unlike the lead services out there, you will not be inundated by a million real estate agents trying to get your business.

What Is My Home Worth - Free Report

For those of you that like to do the work yourself, determining what your home is worth is a multifaceted approach. On one hand, a home is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. If you are looking to sell or refinance, however, that is not a very good guideline.

To objectively determine what you home is worth, you need to take a large number of factors into consideration. They include:

1. What are comparable homes selling for on your block or within three blocks at this time?
2. What did comparable homes sell for six months ago?
3. What did comparable homes sell for 1 year ago?
4. How long does the average comparable home sit on the market before selling?
5. What substantial improvements have you made, are there comparable homes that have done the same and how was their sales price impacted?
6. Are there any foreclosures in your area?
7. Is there any current or planned public works for the area such as a new freeway?
8. Is there open land near you?
9. What is the appreciation rate for your neighborhood for the last 3, 6 and 12 months?
10. Are lots of homes in your neighborhood for sale or only a few?

All of these factors contribute to the worth of your home. You want to start with the sales price of comparable homes in the last three months. Looking back a year, have prices risen or fallen on the sales - adjust your price accordingly. Next you need to determine if houses sitting on the market for longer than the previous six months which is a sign prices are or will be dropping.

As you can see, this gets technical. If you really want to know what your home is worth, just click the link.

If you are selling your property without an agent, FSBO signs should be used. FSBO signs get more attention from buyers and investors then regular home for sale ones.

FSBO Signs

You have done the calculations and come to a startling conclusion. If you use a real estate agent to sell your home, you are looking at paying $18,000 or more as a commission. If you have not done the calculation, you can do so by multiplying six percent times the sales price you are asking for. For most people, the commission ends up being a large chunk of the equity they have built up over the years. The way to get around this is to sell the property yourself and FSBO signs will help a lot.

Buy FSBO Signs Here

The first thing a realtor does when they are retained is go put up home for sale signs around the neighborhood. These signs are cheap to purchase and the realtor will not spend more than an hour placing them. Often, the signs produce offers all by themselves as people interested in a neighborhood tend to drive around and see them. If you accept such an offer, you will have paid tens of thousands of dollars for sign posting services! Obviously, this is a bit of dramatic statement, but you get my drift.

It will hardly be shocking to learn that you can buy and post FSBO signs on your own. In fact, you can do it at the above link. When buying these signs, you want to pick up more than one. You want to post a sign at every major entrance road to your neighborhood. You also want to post them at high traffic intersections within the neighborhood. Next, you need to post the signs at each end of your particular block if it is more than a few hundred feet long. Finally, you need to post a sign in your yard. The goal with FSBO signs is to create a trail to your property. Don’t make potential buyers drive all over the neighborhood trying to find you. Most people use between seven and ten signs.

When using FSBO signs, you have a major advantage over people selling with agents. Buyers tend to think they can get a better deal on a FSBO property because they understand a commission is not being paid to a realtor. Real estate investors, in particular, are very savvy in this regard and will always follow the signs to your property. As such, it is vitally important that you use FSBO signs instead of regular old for sale signs. The sign should say “FSBO” or “For Sale By Owner.”

To wrap up, posting FSBO signs is one of the big steps to getting offers on your property. They sure beat paying a commission to a realtor.

When it comes to being a FSBO Seller, the first question in the minds of many is what does that exactly mean. Well, let’s take a quick look at the subject.

What Is A FSBO Seller?

As you know, the term “FSBO” stands for the phrase “for sale by owner.” Because we are a real estate site, you probably will automatically assume that the term FSBO only applies to the sale of real estate. In fact, it refers to everything from used cars to garage sales and so on. Of course, we will stick to real estate.

The basic idea behind being a FSBO seller is to save money. Avoiding the payment of real estate agent commissions saves the money. In the typical real estate transaction, a real estate agent will get a six percent commission. If you hire a real estate agent to sell your home for $500,000, the commission will be a whopping $30,000. That represents a lot of equity and mortgage payments. From a financial sense, being a FSBO seller absolutely makes sense.

While the financial side of the equation makes obvious sense, some people shy away from being FSBO sellers. The primary reason is the feel like they do not know the business well enough. This may sound reasonable at first glance, but it really is not when you look at the finer points of the process. First, most of the documentation you will need to handle the sales process comes in pre-printed forms. In fact, there are actual “FSBO kits” for sellers. Second, the process really is pretty simple. Clean up your house, put it on the market, show it to prospective buyers and negotiate a selling price.

Obviously, the selling process requires you to learn a few more details, but isn’t it worth it? What if I told you that I would pay you $30,000 to learn how to sell a home? Would you do it? YES! That is exactly what you are doing when you become a FSBO seller.

Relative to how often your garage is being used, a garage owner may have to replace his or her garage door at least once in its lifetime. It is important for garage owners to know the different garage door types and its make so that he or she may be able to choose the best alternative based on the purpose for which the garage was built.

Tilt-Up Garage Doors As the name suggests, tilt-up garage doors are opened through the method of lifting. It is a single panel that pushes out of the garage doorway and up. Tilt up garage doors are relatively less expensive than sectional roll up garage doors.

Sectional Roll Up Garage Doors

Sectional roll up garage doors are mostly composed of four or five horizontal panels or sections that are attached or hinged together. These are mounted on rollers with tracks at the side enabling the sectional panels to roll up and then back. Though more expensive than a tilt up garage door, most home owners opt for the sectional roll up garage door as they are easy to operate, and safe to use.

There are many garage door materials to choose from, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. These garage door materials vary from fiberglass, aluminum, steel, wood and come in different price range.

Wooden Garage Doors

Most of the reason why garage owner prefer wooden garage door is for its aesthetic appeal and homey appearance. Wooden garage doors are also cheaper compared to other garage door materials. However, woods can easily crack, absorb heat and moisture depending on the weather and are therefore subject to different elements that can easily damage it. Wooden garage door require regular repainting, wood reconditioning and maintenance every few years.

Aluminum Garage Doors

Aluminum garage doors are strong, sturdier than wood and can better withstand heavy and nasty battering from the weather and other elements. Most aluminum garage doors are light in weight, have clean designs and do not rust easily.

Steel Garage Doors

Like the aluminum garage doors, steel garage doors are also more sturdy than wood, fiberglass or aluminum. Furthermore, steel garages do not need constant maintenance as they can withstand wear and tear from constant uses and are hardy for bad weather conditions.

Each room of a house requires different levels of general lighting and task lighting. Ideally, general or ambient lighting which is the base level of lighting for the whole room, should be as even as possible. Many home owners today are concerned with how they can reduce artificial lighting for home construction so that the home's artificial lighting can be as practical and energy-efficient as possible.

The ideal way to approach this issue is to develop a lighting plan. This lighting plan should include both the location and the specifications of the fixtures and controls respective to the architectural plans. Decorative, task, focal, and safety lighting should be addressed in the lighting plan and specifications, along with the ambient lighting prescribed in the codes.

For home owners seeking guidance this can be retrieved from professional lighting designers. Typically, these designers are architects or interior designers with a specialty in lighting. If you are interested in locating a lighting designer in your area then simply contact the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America or the International Association of Lighting Designers.

Another way that a home owner can actively reduce the use of artificial lighting throughout his home is by the use of fluorescent fixtures. Where existing incandescent fixtures can't or won't be replaced with fluorescent fixtures, compact fluorescent bulbs can be used to reduce the electricity usage. As an example, a 60-watt incandescent bulb can be replaced with an 11 to 15 watt compact fluorescent, allowing for roughly a 76% reduction. Although compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) cost more than incandescent light bulbs, in reality each bulb saves a great deal of cash over its lifetime. In order to maximize their benefit, use CFLs in rooms with the most traffic. For lights that are used for only short periods of time, specify incandescents with dimmer switches.

Adding dimmers to lighting switches allows several lighting functions, such as task lighting at full illumination and decorative or safety lighting at lower settings. This is especially good as dimming increases lamp life and saves energy because less electrical wattage is used. Even incandescent lamps last longer when a dimmer is installed. For fluorescent fixtures these require either dimmable ballast or additional wiring. Dimmer switches and other lighting controls are rated for total controlled wattage, type of wiring, and type of fixture such as electronic ballast, incandescent, or other.

Some fluorescent lights and fixtures may also be put on dimmers. The benefit of improved artificial lighting allows homeowners to save lots of cash on their electricity bills. For this reason, it is important that home owners take the time to implement methods that will help reduce artificial lighting. This should ideally be done during the construction stages as it can be neatly done.

Las Vegas is one of the best places to invest nowadays. With the transition of Las Vegas from being a gambling capital t an entertainment capital, lot investment opportunities can be found in this City. If you were planning to invest in personal properties in Las Vegas, it would be a good idea to get professional assistance.

Why would somebody need professional assistance in buying personal properties in Las Vegas? Aren’t buying personal properties as simple as going to a store and get the items you want off the shelves? There are many personal properties, which you can simply get from store shelves, but there are also personal properties, which would require studying them carefully before you could be certain that you are going to profit from it. For instances if you are buying financial instruments such as stocks and bonds, you should always get a broker to represent you if you want to get the best value for your money. Remember that stocks and bonds will only become good investments if you invest in the right stocks and bonds. There are many types of stocks and bonds being offered in the Las Vegas market and not all of them are good. If you do not have the right information to help you make an informed decision, you could end up investing in the wrong stocks and bonds and would end up losing money instead of gaining. The services of brokers who are experts in stocks and bonds very important if you don’t want to loss money unnecessarily.

Personal property is a very broad term that encompasses several types of things that a person can own. There is not clear cut definition of personal properties and often times this term is used for any other properties that one can own other than those real estate properties that include land and buildings.

Personal property is a very broad term that encompasses several types of things that a person can own. There is not clear cut definition of personal properties and often times this term is used for any other properties that one can own other than those real estate properties that include land and buildings. Personal properties therefore could mean your car, you bank account, you personal effects, your goods and chattel, the financial instruments you have such as stocks, bonds and the likes. With such a broad definition on personal properties, we could say that there are personal properties, which we could simply acquire by visiting a store, a shop or a mall, and there are personal properties where one would need assistance from agents and brokers in its acquisition.

One would one need a broker or an agent in buying personal properties? Buying personal properties such as financial instruments would require specialized knowledge thus if you want to get the best deals being offered in the market, it would be a good idea to ask help from those people who are knowledgeable. For instance, if you want to invest in mutual funds, which are also considered as a personal property, you would need an agent to explain to you the advantages and the disadvantages of such mutual funds. You will also need the agent to advise you on matters concerning mutual funds which you may not be familiar with. Getting help form brokers and agents in acquiring mutual funds is very important if you want to get the best value for you money. Furthermore, having an agent or a broker to represent you is very convenient and would save you a lot of time and effort.