Whether you currently own a home or are looking to buy one, chances are you’re interested in resale value. There’s always the chance that you will be selling your home in the future, and with that in mind, it’s good to know you can get good payback for your purchase. Here are three things about house resale value that may surprise you.
First of all, swimming pools are not worth much. Not in resale value, anyhow, even if you did pay a lot to have one installed. There was a time when having a pool in the backyard meant a lush and expensive home, but nowadays they are more common than you might think. Many modern home buyers are more interested in a backyard for the kids than they are in having a tiled pool outside their back door. Speaking of the kids, that’s another reason the resale value of homes with pools has gone down: With the ever-growing number of Americans with small children, many would just as soon steer clear of a large body of water in the yard. This is not to say that swimming pools do not have good resale value to the right buyer. It does mean, however, that there are fewer “right buyers” for this type of property than there once were.
The second surprise is an easy one: You can never have too many bathrooms. Nowadays bathrooms are prime space in a home. Even installing a shower and toilet in a corner of the basement can add remodeling potential to your home. Ideally, every house would have a main floor bathroom, a guest bathroom, and a bathroom off of the master bedroom. In short, the more toilets and showers for today’s family, the better your home will fare in the market of the future.
The third and final surprise source of value is this: If your home is the smallest in the neighborhood, it might be the best in terms of resale value. A small, modern, nicely kept home in a neighborhood of larger houses may fare very well. Picture it this way: Your neighborhood is desirable, and you’re lucky enough to have the most affordable house on the block. Compared to the prices of the property around you, what might seem like a high price for the size of your home can be considered a very good deal.
Calculating resale value for a home that you plan to sell in the future can be a tricky job. It’s sometimes difficult to predict what will come and go in the buying market. The best advice is to keep the basics updated and in good shape- this means your kitchen, your roof, your yard, and other obvious hubs of the household. When the time comes to sell your home, be prepared to spend a little money to invest in one or two areas that can increase your home’s value considerably. It will be worth it.
April 30th, 2006
So it’s time to buy a house. Whether you’re shopping on a budget or searching for your dream home no matter what the cost, there are a few things you should keep in mind when you go to view potential properties.
The bottom line is this: Every house has its drawbacks. The trick of being a smart buyer is to know which of those drawbacks aren’t so negative, to use them to your advantage when it comes to negotiating price, and then fix them later at little cost to yourself. Here are three negatives you may encounter in the housing world- that you would be doing yourself a favor to look beyond.
Paint colors. Honestly, if you’re buying something as permanent as a home, what difference does it make what color the walls are? This is not a rental property where you’re stuck with what you get; the house is yours, and the walls are yours to do with as you please. I have actually heard of buyers turning down a house because the burgundy walls made it too dark. A twenty-dollar gallon of paint, or the cost of a painter for a day if you’d rather not do the work, can recreate a room and rejuvenate a house. The trick is to see the house for its possibilities, not its current actualities. Turning down a house because you don’t like the color of the walls is almost as bad as a woman I heard once turn down a house because she didn’t like the doorknobs!
Appliances. Sure, it’s a plus- a big one- if you get a house that comes complete with up-to-date appliances, already installed. But this major convenience comes with a price tag. The reason is simple: Nobody likes lugging in and installing those things. You’re paying to have them there, not necessarily because they’re good appliances. Buy some used ones, have them delivered or borrow a truck, and save on cost. It’s that simple.
Landscaping. This one might be a surprise, since a yard is a fairly permanent thing. Potential buyers should certainly check out the property and what lies adjacent to it. But don’t be overly concerned if the previous owners had dogs that tore up the grass. Planting grass is an easy project that pays off over time and can increase the value of the property tremendously as years go by.
If factors like those above are lacking from the house you’re considering, you should certainly use it as a bargaining tool in lowering your final purchase price. A good seller will recognize that you will incur some out-of-pocket expense to remedy these things, and they’ll adjust the price of the house accordingly. But turning down a property when the fixes are this simple is more than just a foolish move on the buyer’s part. It’s a lost chance to incur some valuable equity and possibly get a great home for a much lower price.
March 20th, 2006
New Update from Windsor Now:
With the allure of easy money, thousands of Americans flocked to jobs in the real estate industry during the boom years.
“You saw it - there were dollar signs in their eyes,” recalls Nick Vayonis, a former real estate agent in Los Angeles, where median home prices rose 145% in four years.
He left the business a year ago, just in time, he says. Home sales have declined nationwide for the past five months, and sales in Southern California fell to their lowest level in five years in February, DataQuick reported Tuesday.
“I could see the ebb and flow. It wasn’t going to be like that forever,” says Vayonis, 40, who just opened a coffee shop in Canton, Ga., near Atlanta with his wife Anne-Marie, also a former agent.
As the housing market slows, there will likely be a lot of stories of people who are bailing out of their real estate jobs and other professions related to housing - appraisers, mortgage brokers and home construction workers - and many not by choice. This could send shock waves through the job market and the economy.
That’s because housing helped drive the economy out of the last recession. Almost four out of every 10 jobs created in the past four years were in housing-related fields. At the end of last year, a record 9.8% of U.S. workers were employed in the real estate industry, up from 8.2% a decade ago, according to Moody’s Economy.com. Only the health care industry added more jobs.
Read full story
March 20th, 2006
New Update from Windsor Now:
When it comes to staging a home, the beauty lies not only in the art but in the numbers. For those who haven’t seen a home-staging TV show or sold a house recently, staging can transform a home from ugly duckling to swan.
Many people are under the misconception that staging is a pricey option for rich homeowners. Not true: Staging is about the creativity, not the money. What some people don’t realize when they sell their house “as is” or don’t stage is that it can actually cost them money.
Because the air seems to be seeping out of the real estate bubble, staging should be on the minds of more home sellers. In the real estate game, time is as important as money. Unstaged homes spent an average of 22 days on the market. Those staged by a professional spent an average of 11 days on the market, according to statistics compiled by Stagedhomes.com.
The industry makes impressive claims for staging: Unstaged home prices averaged $518,820, while a comparable staged home sold for $557,271, a 7.4 percent difference. Barb Schwartz, founder of Associated Staging Professionals and author of “Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money,” makes an even loftier claim. According to her recent figures, staged homes priced under $1 million sell for 10 percent more than comparable unstaged homes. Staged homes listed for $1 million-plus sell for a 20 percent premium, she says.
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March 20th, 2006
Some homeowners consider their basement a wasted space. It’s used for storage, they say, and maybe during tornado watches, but for the most part, it can be a vast unused area just dying for some renovation. With property values on the rise, many homeowners toy with the idea of turning that space into a rental property.
If you’ve thought about renting out your basement, there are a few important things you should know first.
First of all, you have to clear it with the authorities. Head to your local building department and find out whether or not rentals are allowed in the area where your house is situated. If they’re not, renting- even just your basement- is not going to happen. If you are allowed to rent your space, you must make sure it clears all building codes. These involve having the required electrical systems (outlets, light switches, and wiring), exits, smoke detectors, ventilation, and the ability to heat and cool the space. Some areas have much stricter building codes than others, so it’s important to check what applies in your neighborhood. In order to make your basement a rental, you’ll have to bring it up to speed.
Many homeowners hit a stumbling block when it comes to the doorway factor. Having a tenant in the basement means that the tenant needs their own entrance and exit that opens to the outside. It can cost big bucks to remodel a basement door into a usable entrance, and some basements don’t have a door to the outside at all, which means construction costs will be first on your list.
Even if your basement meets all of the above requirements, there’s still work to do. Unless you have a particular tenant in mind and know their needs, you must realize that your city is probably full of apartments, and your basement has to compete. This probably means the installation of painted drywall, carpeting, and other small amenities (including a bathroom and kitchen area!) to make this space truly appealing. Is this beginning to sound like a big investment yet?
Before you make the plunge of building a basement rental, it’s strongly suggested that you think seriously about whether or not you truly want a tenant. Unless, as stated before, you have a particular tenant in mind, you will have to go through a screening process before allowing a stranger to essentially live in your home. Also keep in mind that your basement, unlike apartments in a complex, was not built to be a separate living space, and there will be sound leaks and other nuisances that might pose problems. It’s a big jump to go from a private home to a private home with another private home beneath it. Make sure it’s a jump you want to take before you start laying out the cash to make it happen.
March 11th, 2006
KIRKLAND, WA–(MARKET WIRE)–Mar 9, 2006 — HouseValues Inc. (NasdaqNM:SOLD - News): With the traditionally busy spring home-buying season just around the corner, consumers have a variety of new tools at their fingertips to enhance their searches — from aerial photos and mapping tools, to detailed information about neighborhoods and schools, to data that even lets them see what their neighbors paid for their homes.
And it’s free.
HomePages.com — introduced to consumers late last year by HouseValues Inc. (NasdaqNM:SOLD - News) — is the first Web service to provide all of the information and data consumers need — all in one comprehensive site.
“This spring home-buying season promises to be like no other before it, because it will be the first time consumers have these incredible tools literally at their fingertips to help them perform their research and ultimately find their next home,” said Ian Morris, chief executive officer of HouseValues.
Morris isn’t the only one singing the praises of the numerous tools consumers now have available to help them navigate the home-buying and selling process. An article published last month by the National Association of Realtors called aerial mapping technology, “the trend of the future.” The story went on to say, “Advanced mapping services, such as HomePages.com, offer more options and details, showing neighborhood features, prices of recently sold properties, local restaurants, and more.(1)”
Morris noted that HomePages is the only service in the country that combines, on a single site, virtually all of the key home-finding tools and related detailed information about buying and selling homes. “Consumers can use HomePages to find and view photos and see detailed information on homes for sale in their own market as well as extraordinary amounts of useful and fun information,” Morris explained.
“We use extensive, high-quality aerial photography so consumers can get a clear view of not just the homes, but the streets, neighborhoods and surrounding communities.”
HomePages offers comprehensive information about schools, restaurants, and other key elements relevant to the home search. And in addition to being able to view homes for sale, consumers can quickly and easily pull up information on homes that recently sold.
“My husband and I heard about HomePages right after we started looking for a new home in Southern California, and it has been incredibly helpful,” said Susan Wright, of Costa Mesa, Calif. “Finding the right home is extremely important, of course, but just as important to us is the neighborhood, how far away the school is, and what types of activities there are around town. HomePages lets us do all that research up front, before we even get in our car and actually look at a house in person.
“One of the most interesting things about the site is being able to quickly find out what other homes recently sold for. It really is an invaluable tool because it lets us see how the homes we’re considering measure up, so to speak, in terms of size and condition and price, with others in the area.”
Although launched just a few months ago, HomePages (http://www.homepages.com/) already covers the majority of the nation’s housing markets in major metropolitan areas. The site offers consumers access to nationwide detailed home listings that are updated as often as twice a day to ensure consumers have access to the latest new properties to hit the market. Consumers also have the option to sign up for daily or weekly home listing emails and to receive a complimentary market assessment of their current home from a local neighborhood real estate expert.
“Consumers who have used HomePages have told me it’s been a tremendous help in narrowing their search as a result of the huge amount of information they can quickly find about homes, schools, parks shopping centers and other aspects of the surrounding community,” said Laura Dickenson, a real estate agent with Keller Williams in Brentwood, Tenn.
March 11th, 2006
New Update from Windsor Now:
MORE than 90 per cent of women play a key role in buying a house and yet they are still discriminated against by the mortgage industry, according to a survey by Wizard Home Loans.
Read full story
March 8th, 2006
New Update from Windsor Now:
With buying intentions at their lowest level since 2000, a new RBC study indicates a potential change in the Canadian home buying landscape.
Read full story
March 8th, 2006
Home owners who remodel their homes or make improvements to their property naturally hope to recoup any costs when it comes time to refinance or put their home up for sale. However, when it comes to financing and the real estate market, some remodeling jobs are more valuable than others. If your main goal in doing a remodel is to raise the sticker value of your home, you might want to do some research on which remodels give you more bang for your buck.
Kitchen and bathroom remodels are a surefire bet, since they are valuable to home buyers today. These remodels usually pay back about 95% of their own cost when it comes time to appraise the home. Kitchens and bathrooms go out of date quickly, and are two of the most-often used rooms in a home. If you’re planning on a remodel, this is the first place you should look.
Other remodeling jobs, although they might be pricey and they may sound great, simply don’t have much impact on the home’s market value. Building an outdoor pool, for example, is not a good investment for today’s home owners. Buyers simply aren’t looking for pools in their yards nowadays, and you’re not nearly as likely to get your money back if you go to the trouble of installing one. It’s ironic considering that a minor kitchen remodeling will most likely cost you thousands less than a pool, and yet it will be reflected in your market value at a much better rate. Installing a fireplace, which generally costs around $3,000 or less, depending on the home, can be a great step. While not as lucrative as redoing your kitchen or bathroom, or building a new room or a patio, a fireplace in the family room will guarantee you a higher than average return on your money.
Very surprisingly, refinishing your basement is a remodeling job that pulls hardly any weight in today’s market. Whether it’s because basement rec rooms are out of style, or because more people have found the value in leaving the basement as storage space, a basement remodel will probably only bring you about a 15% return on your investment. This is a surprising statistic, considering the fact that remodeling the basement can add square footage to your living area. If you’re interested in adding square footage, you would be much better off investing in an additional bedroom or a front porch. The remodeling jobs will be more expensive, but you’ll be much more likely to recoup your losses when it comes time for a sale.
So if you’re looking to remodel for the purpose of selling your home, or getting it appraised for mortgage purposes, do a little research on current housing trends. You may very well find that a remodeling job you thought was too expensive will end up paying for itself in the long run.
March 6th, 2006
So you’ve decided that it’s time to update your bathroom. Whether you’re planning to sell your home or you’ve simply decided your family needs a more updated space, there are a few important decisions you should make before you start.
First of all, consider what needs to go (no pun intended). Are you remodeling because all of the fixtures- tub, shower, toilet and sink- are outdated? Or is there a specific area of the bathroom that doesn’t work for you? Maybe the floor is outdated or peeling, or the mirrors are in inconvenient places, or you’d like to knock out a closet or install some shelving. Before you start, pin down the exact things about your bathroom that need work. Don’t immediately assume you need to overhaul the entire room. You may be able to save yourself big bucks by starting with the problem areas. If your bathroom seems too small, you might not need to tear out a wall. Maybe you just need a pedestal sink instead of a cabinet one.
If you’re more than ready to just tear the whole thing up and start from scratch, you’ll have to make some decisions about what’s going to replace the current fixtures. Take some measurements of your tub, sink and toilet, the replacements you’re considering, and the size of the room. Keep in mind that just because you want a claw foot bathtub doesn’t mean you should have one- your bathroom may be too small for anything but a tub that fits closely into the wall. Draw some diagrams, and move things around until they seem to fit. But keep in mind that the layout of a bathroom is fairly limited. The water pipes only come out of the walls in certain places, so unless you’re planning on tearing up the walls and the plumbing, your toilet and shower will probably stay where they are, even if you replace them with new ones.
Making decisions about what new items to buy should be the easy part. Look into purchasing a low-flow toilet. If you haven’t had a new toilet in awhile, you will be amazed at the savings on your water bill once a new, water-saving model is installed. This is also a huge plus to potential buyers, who will love the idea of saving on utilities each month.
Safety in the bathroom is also a consideration. Consider handles around the tub and a non-slip floor covering specifically designed for bathrooms. Many older bathrooms are lacking in safety features, and that’s a down side when it comes time to estimate a home’s value.
Remodeling your bathroom is going to be a job that requires some forethought. Whether you’re doing it to sell the home or for your family, it’s best to take space, safety, and convenience into consideration. You spend an awful lot of time going in and out of your bathroom. It might as well be comfortable!
March 3rd, 2006
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