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Your guide to investment and/or rental property basics. Learn the four basic principles of investment and rental property before you begin. Rental Property Investment Basics.
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Technology is transforming how Americans buy and sell homes in unexpected ways, including how they work with real estate agents and brokers, according to one of the largest surveys of real estate consumers ever conducted - both home sellers and home buyers. The study was released today by the National Association of Realtors®.
Nine out of 10 home buyers use a real estate agent in the search process, but use of the Internet to search for a home has risen dramatically over time, increasing from only 2 percent of buyers in 1995 to 77 percent in 2005; it was 74 percent in 2004. The next largest source of information for buyers is a yard sign, mentioned by 71 percent of buyers.
When asked where they first learned about the home purchased, 24 percent of buyers identified the Internet, up strongly from 15 percent in 2004 and only 2 percent in 1997. Although most buyers use an agent to complete the transaction, 36 first learn about the home they buy from a real estate agent and 15 percent from yard signs; five other categories were 7 percent or less.
For the full article, click here.
The word on the street is that condo-hotels are the latest trend in lodging. Get the basics on this new hotel hybrid, read investment tips, investigate condo-hotel projects nationwide and much more. Learn more about this trend at www.realtor.org.
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A four part series on staging your home to sell faster, by your Boulder Colorado Real Estate Expert.
Focus on Subtle Changes
Some improvements may seem subtle, but they impress buyers nonetheless. Updating hardware is an example.
Some buyers are really big on what is called the “jewelry” of the house. A tarnished or rusted porch light gives the buyer an immediate bad impression of the house as a whole. Replace it with a shiny new lamp.
And consider replacing switchplate covers, choosing either white or ivory, and making sure all in the home match. This will give the home a more uniform and appealing look.
This staging is not deceptive, but simply helping the house put its best foot forward. And there is always the idea that a homeowner in Colorado had with keeping a batch of cookie dough in the refrigerator, and baking cookies whenever prospects were scheduled to hour the house. The homeowner would put the cookies out for the visitors to munch on while there looking. Plus, the delicious aroma made her visitors feel right at home – including the couple that quickly decided to buy it.
A four part series on staging your home to sell faster, by your Boulder Colorado Real Estate Expert.
Lighten and Brighten
Make improvements that pay. When spending money on improvements, concentrate on return on investment or ROI. Painting to lighten and brighten is a good value. Some experts suggest white for interiors, although some experts disagree, preferring neutral colored – like a soft, buttery tan – to make the house feel warm and welcoming, rather then cold and stark. A bold accent colored could be used sparingly to draw attention to a unique feature.
According to a survey of 2,000 real estate agents by HomeGain, an Internet-based firm, lightening and brightening a house in any way is the most cost effective improvement. That might mean replacing heavy draperies with sheers and pruning shrubs away from windows, as well as putting lighter paint on the walls. It might cost about $100, if you do the painting yourself, but it will raise the selling price of a $200,000 house by nearly $1,000, an ROI of 1,000 percent.
Other valued improvements, according to the survey include manicuring the landscape and trim (266 percent return), fixing plumbing and electrical (196 percent), and some kitchen and bath upgrades (138 percent).
Stay away from these upgrades with low POI: painting interior walls any odd color (63 percent return), repairing flooring (50 percent), replacing carpeting (39 percent), and painting exterior walls (34 percent).
A four part series on staging your home to sell faster, by your Boulder Colorado Real Estate Expert.
Make Needed Repairs
Getting a house ready to sell is a chore, because a lot of people who are selling have emotionally checked out of the house. They’d rather focus their time and efforts on their next home instead of the one they’re leaving.
But this could be a mistake. There are cost-effective ways to make a house more attractive to buyers. The first suggestion is basic, repair what is broken.
A house in disrepair will receive a lower price, and the cost to fix items will often be deducted anyway. By getting the house in good repair, sellers take away the opportunity for buyers to haggle.
A thorough cleaning is suggest, and ridding the house of the clutter that homeowners learn to not see after a while. You know that area in the kitchen where you toss the mail and the kids’ lunch boxes and the recycling? When potential buyers come into a home, that’s the first thing they notice.
Cluttered closets are also a big turnoff for prospective buyers, who think: How am I going to put all my stuff in here?
One solution is to start packing early, before the house is sold, and then stow the boxes in a temporary storage locker. By packing up closets and clearing out the garage, sellers create a felling of openness in the house that’s attractive to buyers.
A four part series on staging your home to sell faster, by your Boulder Colorado Real Estate.
Clean up the Clutter
“Staging” a house to get it sold fast, rather than simply lowering the price, is becoming more popular of late, thanks in part to such television shows as Sell This House on the A&E channel, and Designed to Sell on HGTV.
And no wonder. In 2001 the average home sold after four weeks on the market, but by 2003, that figure had jumped 23 percent. In a world that moves faster all the time, most homeowners would like their home to sell more quickly. Staging a home for sales, which has long been a tool in the high-end housing market, is now becoming popular with more modest properties.
To clean up the clutter, a recent client, Charles, removed clutter from a hallway, took down his art collection so potential buyers could imagine their own pieces hanging on the walls and put away family photos to de-personalize the space.
Outside, he planted red flowers near the curb to make the house easier to find, and kept the front-yard fountain running all the time.
He also had a small bedroom repainted to make it look more like a child’s room, which would have broader appeal
Pending home sales continue to decline but are expected to recover in the months ahead, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). Get the low-down from this recent article from NAR.
If you're looking to buy or sell real estate in the Boulder Colorado Real Estate market, contact your Downtown Boulder Colorado Real Estate Expert.
