Cheap, Simple Upgrades Increase Home's Value

The value of a home can be increased with a few cheap and simple upgrades. With tight budgets, a complete home renovation is often out of the question, so spend the money where it will have the biggest impact. Increase the home’s value to put it on the market for sale or for personal enjoyment with these cheap and simple upgrade ideas.

Declutter the Rooms

Clutter devalues a home, organization adds value. Declutter every room within the home by tossing out what needs to be trashed, repurposing items, and investing in cheap storage containers for items that need to be kept.

Cheap plastic storage bins make great stackable containers for storing items in the closets, garage, and basement. Cheap wicker baskets make great decorative storage containers to place on shelves or countertops. As a side note to countertop storage, clear off as much as possible from the kitchen and bathroom countertops, it will make the home look more spacious and well maintained.

Upgrade Kitchen and Bathroom Fixtures and Hardware

If a full kitchen or bathroom remodel is not in the budget, replacing fixtures and hardware is a cheap upgrade that will give the kitchen and bathroom an instant facelift. Install new sinks and water-conserving sink faucets and showerhead.

Upgrade the cabinetry by replacing the drawer and door pulls in the same metal finish as the new sink faucets to pull the room look together. New lighting fixtures is an inexpensive way to upgrade and brighten the look of a kitchen or bathroom.

Clean Up the Landscape

If the front lawn is covered with toys, overgrown shrubs, and flower beds filled with dying flowers, it will decrease a home’s value. Clean up the landscape, then upgrade it by planting some cheap, colorful flowers and solar path lighting. A clean landscape with pops of flower color will upgrade the home’s curb appeal and add value to the home.

Spruce up the Home’s Exterior

Small things like a loose gutter, broken window, or missing handrail will decrease the value of a home. Spruce up the home’s exterior by making minor repairs and apply a fresh coat of paint where applicable. If the home is covered with washable siding, the siding can be cleaned and made to look brand new with a thorough washing. A pressure washer can be rented cheaply from any home improvement store to make quick work of the home exterior wash job.

Cheap upgrades, like decluttering the interior and cleaning up the exterior, will increase a home’s value without breaking the budget.

Selling a home can be difficult to do on your own. Let us help. Click here to learn more.

The Offer To Purchase or Agreement of Purchase and Sale is also known by many other names depending upon where you live. In some parts of the country it is known as the "Binder", or "Earnest Money Agreement", other people call it the "Offer and Acceptance Agreement" or simply the "Acceptance Agreement", and still in other parts of the country it is known as the "Agreement of Purchase and Sale". I refer to it as the "Agreement of Purchase and Sale" in this tutorial, but I could have used any one of the other terms just as well because in the end, they all refer to the same document.

Regardless of what you call it, this form is the contract on which all of the details of the sale, including the sales price, the closing date, and any conditions and inclusions are clearly outlined. It stipulates the obligations of the Vendor and Purchaser alike and outlines all of the terms pertinent to the sale. When a buyer decides that they want to buy your house they will put an offer together using the Agreement of Purchase and Sale. If this offer is accepted by you placing your signature on its signature line, then it ends up becoming a legal and binding contract between that Purchaser and you as the Vendor. But the operative word here is "if", because you are not obligated to accept it, or any other offer until you are satisfied with its terms; including the offering price.

When an offer has been prepared by a prospective buyer or their attorney, it will be presented to you for your inspection and consideration. It is worthy to mention that it will most likely contain a time period, known as the irrevocable period, in which you are allowed to consider it before it expires and becomes null and void. In a typical offer, this irrevocable period can be as short as a few hours, or as long as a few months (although the latter is rare) but usually is long enough for you to consider it without undue haste, and without tying up the buyer for an unnecessarily long period of time. Your choices are to accept it as it is, alter it and present it back to the Purchaser as a counteroffer with your own irrevocable period, or to just let it expire. The Purchaser has all of the same options you do as it pertains to counteroffers. This offer goes back and forth until everyone is prepared to agree to its contents or let it die.

It is prudent to look past the offered price, and take into consideration all of the other clauses and conditions found in the offer. Too many inexperienced vendors lose good buyers because they don't consider the offer as a whole. For example, an offer that is not conditional upon the buyer selling his house first is better than one that is, even if the conditional offer is for more money. Why? In a word - Risk. As a Vendor, you are risking that the deal will fall apart because the buyer has not sold his house. If the deal falls apart, you have nothing. Most of the time, any prudent Real Estate lawyer will add a clause that stipulates that if another offer, that is acceptable to the Vendor, comes in while the property has been promised on a conditional offer to a Buyer, that the Buyer with the conditional offer has the "Right of first refusal". This means that the buyer has the opportunity to make their conditional offer firm, by waiving the conditions in it, or refuse it and consider it null and void. This prevents the situation where a Vendor is obligated to a conditional offer and may lose another firm offer because of it. Be mindful that the new offer, this is the one that you want in place of the conditional offer, should be a far better or at least a firm offer. It doesn't have to be a firm offer, but it seems logical that it should at least be far better than the first offer because it seems pointless to replace a perfectly good conditional offer with another one that is exactly the same, or worse. The rule here is not to get caught up in "switching offers" unless there is a very good reason for it.

Learn more about real estate practices from Becky Bauer The Realtor.

      1. Ride the Neighborhood in the Early Evening: By doing this you will see the people who live in the area and how they live. You will see the condition of the cars, and if any conditions exist (loitering, loud music, etc...) which you may find objectionable. Do this more than once, and be sure to include Friday and Saturday nights.

      2. Get a Home Inspection: Many home purchasers bypass this step because it will cost them a couple of hundred dollars. However, a couple of hundred dollars upfront will let you know exactly what you are buying and reveal any problems you might not have noticed on your walkthrough. Real Estate Appraisers are not Home Inspectors. Appraisers make only a casual inspection of the property and are not trained to identify any problems other than the obvious. Do not rely on relatives who are contractors. If they are wrong, they probably won't have Errors and Omissions Insurance for you to file against. Get a professional Home Inspector.

      3. Visit the Local Police Department: Police Departments know the crime in an area better than anyone. Many will even print you a report of the criminal history of a neighborhood. Once you buy a house, you are stuck with the neighborhood whether you like it or not. While you are at the Police Department, if you have kids, ask for a crime report on the school your child will be attending.

      4. Check the Sexual Offender Register: Do you want to live next do to a child molester or rapist? Few of us do. The local Sheriff's Department will have a list of all sex offenders living in the area.

      5. Check with the Local Road Department: Do you want to move into a house and later discover there are plans to run a freeway through your living room the next year, or are there changes planned that will turn your nice quiet cul-de-sac into a thoroughfare?

      6. Check with the Local Zoning Board: The woods next door may be beautiful, but they may not appear so beautiful when you find out the land is zoned for a strip club, sawmill, convenience store, or apartments. Most cities and counties keep a wall map you can look at and tell in a few minutes if there are any allowed land uses you would find objectionable.

      7. Obtain a Utility Cost History for the House: Most utility companies will print out a history of the utility costs for the property. High utility costs can be the result of an underground water leak, a malfunctioning furnace or air conditioner unit, or lack of proper insulation, among many other causes. None of these are cheap to fix.

      8. Talk to the Neighbors Before You Sign the Contract: Often, neighbors will know more about the house than anyone besides the previous owner. They will also know about the neighborhood. Tell them you are interested in purchasing the house, and find out what they know. This also gives you a chance to determine if you will like your neighbors and their lifestyles.

      9. Research the Former Uses of the Land and the Adjoining Land: Was there an old gas station down the road at one time? Was there a factory nearby years ago? Was there a town dump around the cornerback in the 1930's? All of this is important. Soil and water contamination from a property a mile away can affect your health and the resale value of your property. The Environmental Protection Agency publishes a list of hazardous sites. You may be surprised at how many are located in your area.

      10. Add to the contract that the Seller will furnish to you for your review all plans, specifications, surveys, warranties, appraisals, or other information he has in his possession regarding the property within a specified number of days of signing the contract. Additionally, the contract should state that, upon purchasing the house, these documents become your property. You may find this information very valuable.

      11. Count the Vacant Houses: A large number of vacant houses in a neighborhood may indicate that something is happening in the neighborhood that is undesirable. There is always some reason for vacancies. Often, it is just the normal market functioning as it should. But, when vacancies are excessive, it could be that the local economy has turned down, the foreclosure rate is high, or something more sinister is happening like gang problems in the neighborhood. If you find a lot of vacancies you can often use this information to negotiate a better price on the house you are purchasing.

      12. Count the For Rent and For Sale Signs: Do this for the same reason you count the vacancies. Additionally, a high number of rentals in a neighborhood indicate that the neighborhood is less stable. Remember, the residents of a neighborhood make the neighborhood. Most renters are great people (most people are renters), but because of the high turnover in rentals, the odds of you having a bad neighbor during your term of ownership are increased significantly over what it would be with homeowners as neighbors.

There are all kinds of hidden problems you may not find about until it is too late, unless, of course, you do your homework. The key is information. You can not have too much. Question anyone who might be familiar with the area or the property. Real estate agents often know very little about the house or the neighborhood. Sellers will usually keep their mouths shut and reveal no more than what they legally are required to reveal. It is up to you to do your homework.

For a safe, efficient, and hassle-free home buying experience, visit Becky Bauer The Realtor’s website.

Don't Leave Repair and Maintenance Problems for New Owners

No project is too small to affect a sale. Something as simple as a misaligned cabinet door can send up a red flag for buyers. In buyers’ minds, if a seller can’t be bothered fixing something as simple as that, they probably haven’t addressed major problems either. All systems, such as electrical, plumbing, heating, and cooling should be in excellent condition. This includes appliances, fixtures, and electrical outlets.

Complete Maintenance Tasks and Finish All Projects

Another red flag for buyers is deferred maintenance. An example is a fence that needed to be repainted. Other tasks that should be completed include inspections and cleanings for any fireplace or wood stove and corresponding chimneys and ensuring all smoke and CO detectors are working correctly.

A major turnoff for buyers is incomplete projects. Most are not even major, such as replacing missing trim pieces. While minor, these all signal work to potential buyers, which is not what they want when they first move into a home.

Price Reduction Debate

The question of whether to reduce the price or complete repairs has always been a hotly debated topic. In general, it is almost always better to complete any minor to moderate repairs and even many major projects. The reduction in price or the credit offered at closing often ends up being much more than the cost of the repair. And you can’t put a price on the peace of mind buyers feel when they don’t see these potential repairs. Some sellers do not have the finances to complete major repairs. Replacing the siding on a home, for example, can be extremely expensive. A major factor is whether the repair is needed for the home to pass inspection or is just something that should be done in the next year or two. A roof may be nearing its life expectancy but not need any immediate repairs. However, if the roof is leaking or numerous shingles are missing, it might be necessary to complete the repair. Home equity loans and construction loans are possible options for getting money to complete repairs.

Expected Conditions

Some tasks don’t necessarily add value but will detract from the price if they are not completed. Features, such as a roof in good condition or a basement without a water problem, are expected from buyers. Some repairs are so minor that it doesn’t make sense not to complete them. Sellers should install any missing hardware or window/door trim.

Other items add aesthetic value. New hardware on cabinets can give them an updated look.

Disclosure is Critical

Many states now require sellers to sign a property disclosure form. It consists of questions about various parts and systems of the house, including any known problems or repairs, both past, and present.

It is critical to err on the side of caution! There are serious legal consequences for withholding information or not being completely honest. Some sellers have been held liable for problems that were so obvious that they should have known about them.

Inspections & Warranties

An extra measure of precaution is to have a home inspection performed before listing the home. Most buyers will still choose to do their own, but it shows that you are open and honest about the condition of your home. It can uncover big problems that might cause a sale to fall through at the last minute.

Another great way to provide peace of mind to buyers -and even sellers themselves - is to offer a home warranty. The warranty covers the home while it’s on the market and then transfers to the new owners. If something breaks, buyers/sellers only need to pay a small deductible to have the needed repairs completed.

Murphy’s Law dictates that something will always go wrong at the last possible minute, usually during a final walk-through. The problem can be quickly solved when a home warranty is in place. An added bonus is that the fee for the warranty can be paid at closing.

Make sure to thoroughly research companies and compare plans and pricing. Local real estate agents, lenders, and home inspectors may have a list of companies that offer policies.

In conclusion, complete as many repairs and maintenance projects as possible. The reward will be a quicker sale, a higher profit, and peace of mind for both buyers and sellers.

If you still need help selling your home, visit Becky Bauer’s website to learn more about how hiring the right realtor can give you the best selling experience.

Five Budget Fixes to Help You Sell Your House Fast

So you're selling a home and you need to sell it fast. If you're like many other homeowners, you may scrimp on preparation in your rush to get out the door. But neglecting to prepare your house for viewings can cause your home to languish on the market.

According to a 2007 survey of over 2,000 real estate agents across the US, it's often the small improvements made before selling a home that pays off the most (HomeGain's "Prepare-to-sell" Survey).

Here are fives budget fixes real estate experts agree will help you sell your house fast:

Selling a Home Fix 1: Clear Out Excess Clutter

As soon as you decide to sell your home, start packing up your knickknacks right away. That cabbage patch or doily collection has to go!

Excess clutter prevents buyers from being able to picture themselves living in your home. Correction. Their home -- you hope. Plus clutter has the added disadvantage of making your house seem smaller.

Try to keep decorations few and far between, and keep them as neutral as possible. Personal photos should be kept to a minimum.

Look at it this way. When you declutter, you'll get a head start on your packing and add dollars to your selling price in one fell swoop.

Selling a Home Fix 2: Become a Lean, Mean Cleaning Machine

Nothing halts a sale in its tracks faster than doggy odours, mouldy tiles, or cobwebbed corners. When you're selling your home, a sparkling, odour-free environment is crucial to creating a positive first impression.

Years of accumulated grime will only create the impression of neglect and may prompt the buyer to wonder what other problems may be lurking elsewhere.

Unless you're a domestic diva (and even then), your home is probably not clean enough for prospective buyers. So roll up your sleeves, arm yourself with some heavy-duty cleansers, and make sure every corner shines. Kitchens and bathrooms are especially important to get right as they can literally make or break a sale.

Don't know which end of a broomstick is up? Consider hiring a one-time maid service to do a deep clean for you. Depending on the size of your home, this will cost less than $300 -- a small investment with big payoffs.

HomeGain's study revealed that when you spend between $190 and $300 on cleaning and decluttering before selling your home, you can expect a 500% return on your investment!

Selling a Home Fix 3: Make Minor Repairs

Studies show that most buyers are looking for homes that are "move-in ready". Unless you're trying to attract bargain hunters, before you put your house on the market, tackle all the small repairs you've been meaning to get around to.

Take a scraper to peel paint on bathroom ceilings, and seal up leaky faucets once and for all.

Don't forget about the outside of your home! Give your fence a fresh coat of paint, weed out your gardens, and repair cracked tiles on your patio. If the outside of a home doesn't appeal to buyers, chances are they won't make it through the front door.

Selling a Home Fix 4: Give New Life to Your Home with Paint

A fresh coat of paint is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to make your home sparkle. What's more, you'll get back every penny you put in -- and then some. Painting prior to a sale average a 150% return on investment (HomeGain 2007)!

So take down yellowed wallpaper or, for a quick fix, paint over it with a bright neutral colour for an instant pick-me-up. Stick to light, neutral colours that will appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers.

Paint is also a fantastic way to make awkward features to blend into the background. Roger Hazard, the designer on Sell This House, shares a trick of the trade: "There are countless times when we don't want potential buyers to notice an ugly vent, odd nooks, or less than perfect baseboards. We simply paint them to blend in with the walls and no one ever notices."

Selling a Home Fix 5: Ensure Every Room Functions as Expected

When selling a home, it's important that buyers can see exactly what each room is intended for -- or sometimes, what it could be used for (e.g., a bonus space).

If you've been using your dining room as a home office, relocate your computer desk to the den or pack it up altogether. Your dining room should show as a dining room, so make sure it contains what every person expects to see in the space -- a dining room table and chairs.

Same goes with bedrooms. If your home is located in a family-oriented neighbourhood, showing a second bedroom as a child's room rather than a home office makes sense. If your neighbourhood mainly attracts young professionals on the other hand, go ahead and convert that bedroom into a den. Better yet, include a day bed that shows it can be used as a guest room and a home office.

When selling a home in the hopes of securing a quick sale, it may be tempting to skip some of these steps. But real estate experts agree: the cost and effort put into preparing your home first will help you sell your house fast -- and cost far less than the carrying costs incurred while your house sits on the market.

Ready to sell your home? Let us make it easier for you. Click here to get in touch with an experienced real estate agent who can help you sell your home the best way.

The property market isn't great, but you do have options. You can either rent out your house to a tenant or sell your home privately or through a real estate agent like Becky Bauer for fair market value. Subject to the availability of sufficient equity, you may even prefer to sell it to a property cash buyer to achieve a quick sale. Whether you should sell or rent out your home depends heavily upon your personal circumstances and the state of the property or rental market in your local area.

Rent Out Your House When Underwater With Negative Equity

You may want to sell your house, but don't want to be left with a deficiency. Provided that the lender is agreeable, you could arrange a short sale but this will result in a lower credit score. Rather than affecting your creditworthiness, consider renting out your home until house prices start to recover. You could then move to a more affordable home or live with family until property prices are high enough to enable you to sell. In the interim, the rental income can be used to pay your mortgage.

Why Rent Out Your House When You Have Sufficient Equity?

You've fallen on hard times because you've lost your job, there's been a freeze on overtime or your health has deteriorated. You have enough equity to sell your property and walk away with a net capital gain, but you don't really want to do this. Rather than selling, you could rent out your house until your personal circumstances change for the better. Let's face it, it isn't a great time to sell. This would mean you can leave on your own terms when circumstances are more favourable.

When to Sell Your Home on the Open Market

You've got sufficient equity and want to move to a new area because of family or career commitments. You don't intend to return. The children may have left or your partner has passed away so your home is too big and expensive for you. You may be planning a family and want to upgrade to a larger home. Although house prices are lower, so are the properties you're looking to purchase. You already have enough money to cover your down payment on a new house so, provided you can sell your house, you can move on with your life.

How to Sell Your House Quickly

If your house has been on the market for quite a while, you could rent out your house, but there is a further option you may wish to explore. You won't get full market value, but you'll achieve a quick house sale for about 80% of its worth. A sell and rent back scheme involves selling your house to a property cash buyer. The positives are that there won't be any estate agency fees and you won't need to pay the normal legal costs. The entire process can normally be achieved in just 24 hours.

Evaluate Potential Home Staging Professionals to Ensure a Good Match

Hiring a professional home stager is the easiest way to increase the selling price of your home and garner a quick home sale if you have the funds available.

Once you've decided to move ahead with a professional, how do you decide which home stager is right for you?

There are a number of factors which can influence your decision. Here are some of the key considerations when deciding on the right home stager for you.

Home Stager Evaluation: Budget

To a large extent, your budget will dictate which home stager is right for you. Some staging companies cater to small budgets while others focus exclusively on high-end, big-budget transformations. Look for a home stager that caters to your price range.

Home Stager Evaluation: Type of Residence

Look for a home stager that has experience staging your type of residence. A trailer, for example, is going to have very different home staging needs than a high-end mansion. Condos and townhouses also have unique staging needs compared to single-family detached homes.

Step Three: Neighborhood

The demographics of your neighborhood affects what type of home stager will be most effective. Is your neighborhood mainly composed of families? Young, busy professionals? Students? Again, look for a home staging company that has worked extensively with the particular demographics of your neighborhood.

Step Four: Past Work

Any staging company worth their salt will have "before and after" photos of their past work. Look at the photos critically to make sure they've achieved their objective showing off the home's best features! Do the photos make you want to rush out and buy the place? Elicit an emotional response? This is also a great way to assess their "staging style."

Step Five: Testimonials

Looking at testimonials received from satisfied customers is one of the best ways to assess a home stager's ability and dedication to customer service. Look for testimonials that give results-oriented feedback, rather than general "wow" statements. (E.g., "Before we hired the 'X, Y, Z Staging Company,' our home sat on the market for two months without a single offer. After staging? We received full price in just 10 days.")

Step Six: Industry Certifications

Staging is a relatively young industry, but there are some widely recognized industry standards. Accredited Staging Professionals (ASPs) have trained according to the guidelines set out by the International Association of Home Staging Professionals – the only staging organization affiliated with the Real Estate rather than the interior design industry. Although accreditation is not mandatory to provide staging services, it does indicate a home stager has had formal training.

Step Seven: "Return" Policy

Chances are if you've followed the above steps when selecting a staging company, you will be satisfied with the end results. But what if you (or your real estate agent) doesn't agree with the staging that's been done?

Find out how your prospective home stager has dealt with this type of situation in the past. Perhaps after a certain number of showings without an offer, they'll be willing to change things around free of charge. Whatever their policy, find out in advance!

Once you've found a home stager you think will work for you, hire them for a home staging services consultation first. Then you can get a feel for the person you will be working with and whether they'll be a good match without making a huge financial commitment. And to really get the most out of your home selling experience, hire a real estate professional like Becky Bauer to sell your newly staged home quickly and easily.

Pre-sale Preparations That Will Increase the Value of a Home

Before a home goes on the market, steps should be taken to ensure that it is appealing to all prospective buyers, and this means stripping it of almost all of the little personal touches that make it home to the present owners. Prospective buyers must be able to walk into a home and envision themselves in the space, and that cannot be done when it is overflowing with someone else`s personal items.

Taking the time to properly repair, prepare, and stage your home will not go unnoticed by buyers, and could add considerable value to the home.

Welcome Potential Buyers with Curb Appeal

The outside of your home serves as a kind of welcome mat for buyers, so show them that they are welcome.

• Be sure the paint is not peeling. Touching up the paint on trim, railings, and fencing can make a huge difference.
• Plant some shrubs and seasonal flowers or install some window boxes filled with colorful plants.
• Reseed or re-sod any bare patches in the yard.
• Make sure that the grass is cut and any unruly tree branches have been trimmed.
• Keep toys and yard equipment out of sight.
• Add some lighting to walkways.

Clean It Up

Cleaning a home that is going on the market means much more than running the vacuum and wiping off countertops before prospective buyers show up. It means purging the home of all unnecessary personal belongings and excess clutter so that the home is "open house ready" at the drop of a hat.

Give the house a proper top to bottom spring cleaning, and pay attention to detail, because the buyers will. Pay special attention to windows, mirrors, and light fixtures. The shinier they are, the cleaner things will look.

Clean It Out

Buyers will not only be looking at the condition of the home, the size of the rooms, but they will also be sure to investigate how many cabinets, storage, and closet space there is. Be sure that drawers, closets, pantries, and all storage compartments hold only the necessities. Overcrowding makes space look smaller.

• Remove and pack away out of season clothing, shoes and accessories from the bedroom and entranceway closets. The extra room that is created will make it look like it seems much larger.
• Clean out and re-organize kitchen junk drawers. This too will make it seem like there is more space than if they were crammed full of unnecessary stuff.
• If the basement and garage are in disarray be sure to clean it out and stack boxes and bins neatly to show off the empty space.

Repairs and replacements

Small but obvious repairs should never be overlooked when preparing a home for sale. For example, something as small as a broken hinge or missing handle on a cabinet can take away from an otherwise attractive room. These are small things, but they will draw attention.

• Repair any dents, scrapes, or chips to walls.
• Replace any missing knobs or drawer pulls. If matching ones cannot be found, it is a good idea to replace them all so that they match.
• Replace any kitchen or bathroom fixtures that have permanent unsightly calcium marks on them.
• Replace any chipped or broken tiles.
• Re-paint, resurface or replace damaged or outdated cabinets or door fronts.
• Replace any burned-out light bulbs.
• Replace outdated or damaged light fixtures or ceiling fans with budget-friendly new ones.

Visualizing

Prospective home buyers must be able to visualize themselves living in the home Providing them with an uncluttered, neutral space with that visualization.

• Repaint so that all rooms are a neutral color.
• Open as many blinds and curtains, to allow as much light as possible into the rooms.
• Remove all but the most necessary pieces of furniture. (cluttered rooms look smaller)
• Empty shelves of books, knickknacks, family photos, votive candles, etc...
• Pack away photos and heirlooms.
• Be sure that all counters/vanity tops are clean and free of personal items and that the kitchen and bathrooms are spotless.
• Make sure that all beds are made and floors are free of toys, laundry, etc.

When your house is ready to go on the market, you may find yourself wondering, “How do I sell my house?”. Ensure a quick and worry-free selling experience for yourself when you hire a professional real estate agent like Becky Bauer.

Follow these tips to increase the overall value of your home and get the most out of your sale!