All of a sudden, a light bulb goes off in your head and you want to sell your home. Well, if you plan on selling your home in 2008, then you need a game plan on how to make yours shine above the rest. Remember it’s more important to keep your home clean, and looking spacious, rather than upgrading everything in sight. If your home is in need of remodeling and you don’t want to do it, it isn’t a bad idea to credit the buyer so they can do the work themselves.

If you want to save a few extra bucks, here are some tips:

Ask for advice. Call a HomeZill agent and we’ll stop by and offer some suggestions. Some little improvements will make a world of difference. Cleaning the carpets, painting the walls and removing wallpaper are common fixes that make your home look new. If you have a lot of extra stuff (a.k.a clutter), then you may need to rent a storage space while your home is on the market.

Inspect. If you own an older home, then think about getting a home inspection before you put it on the market. This will prevent any problems that could keep your home from selling. If a buyer finds something wrong when they go through their home inspection, they’re more likely to think that there are other problems that have been neglected.

Check the outside: Take a closer look at the exterior of your home. More specifically, take into consideration the siding and windows. According to the Cost vs. Value survey, a wood window replacement recovers an average 81% of cost at resale and a siding replacement recovers an average 83%, some of the best payoffs in the survey.

Think about the bathroom. Nothing needs to be cleaner in the house than the bathroom. Knowing that someone can use the bathroom right away without the look of disgust will leave people with a smile. Consider replacing cracked tiles, as well as the sink and the toilet if they need it. An entire bathroom makeover can cost as less as $500.

Don’t go all out in the kitchen: Remodeling magazine found that homeowners could recover 83% of the cost of a minor kitchen remodel at resale compared with 78% of a major kitchen remodeling. Replacing major appliances like the refrigerator and stove are not that important because buyers all have different tastes.

Make the smart decision and replace a countertop if it’s crumbling but not because it’s outdated. The only reason to upgrade to granite is if your competition has granite as well.

Good luck out there!

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Are you still living in the same home that you purchased 15 years ago? If so, have you visited any homes that have been built in the past five years? I know you would enjoy a private retreat instead of a place where you can only lay your head. This would be a place to go relax, read, or soak in a hot bubble bath away from all the chaos. I’m talking about a master suite. Builders know that an immaculate master suite is on the top of buyers’ lists.

So maybe you have seen what all the hype is about. You want your home to look like the new neighborhood down the street. The only question that lingers in your mind is, “Will I get a return on my investment if I sell the house someday?” It’s a great question to ask before a blast-off into any remodeling, especially if the renovating is being done to make a few extra bucks on the sale.

The number one thing that I suggest is, do your research! There are some great materials available to you and believe it or not, Remodeling magazine publishes a study every year that is titled “Cost vs. Value.” The study looks at home improvements throughout the country. They then compile and analyze the data from agents and reveal the national and regional returns on investment for the range of home improvements.

Now, past results have shown that you will not recover your investment if you plan on selling your home within a year. However, there are exceptions depending on the quality of the remodeling, region, and the market itself.

You’re probably wondering what the best home improvements are. Which improvements will get the highest return on your investment (ROI)? For beginners, minor kitchen and master bath remodeling is always a standout. Some easy revamps are: granite countertops, new appliances, paint/replace cabinets, and recovering your floors. These examples are improvements that have a good chance of recouping the majority if not all of your money back. Of course adding a home office, a new bathroom, or replacing windows are going to be riskier, which may be a high return, but a big factor in your return on investment depends on where you live.

If you intend to live in your home for a number of years, remodeling might not be in your best interest for a short term return-on-investment. However, the longer you stay in your home, the longer you can enjoy your improvements that you’ve made. That my friends, you cannot put a price on!

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President Bush signed into law today a new bill providing tax relief for homeowners facing foreclosure or bankruptcy. The bill eliminates federal taxes due from homeowners who have had mortgage debt forgiven as part of a foreclosure, short sale or the renegotiation of a loan. Currently such debt forgiveness is treated as taxable income. The law applies to all ACQUISITION (not refi) debt forgiven from Jan 1, 2007 and on.

The bill came in response to the current mortgage crisis, which has become more prevalent in booming metropolitan cities over recent years including Northern Virginia and Washington DC real estate. It is anticipated to reduce taxes on strapped homeowners by $650 million. “When you’re worried about making your payments, higher taxes are the last thing you need to worry about,” Bush said. With some 2 - 2.5 million adjustable-rate mortgages scheduled to reset through 2008, the new law will be a nice holiday gift for many homeowners facing foreclosure in Virginia and Washington DC.

If you fall into this group, be sure to ask your tax preparer what paperwork you may need to provide from your short sale or foreclosure in order to file the proper forms with your tax return.

If you know someone who would like assistance from a short sale Re/Max Realtor in Northern Virginia or Washington DC, please contact us ASAP at 1-888-998-9455 or info@homezill.com - time if of the essence!

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Your home has been on the market for 3 months now and you’re not getting any traffic coming through. You may be thinking, “Oh the market is slow right now, just give it some time.” Then another 3 months pass by and you mutter the same thing to your wife. Well Sir, a half year is a long time in any kind of market. Did you ever think that you may be preventing your home from selling?

First things first, you must hire a good agent to sell your home. Selling a home ‘For Sale By Owner’ (FSBO) is less prevalent now-a-days and 85% of FSBO’s end up listing with an real estate agent anyways (click here for FSBO stats). This is a big step and you want to choose a Realtor or team of agents that will value this decision as much as you do. This is a no brainer - call the HomeZill Team.

Next, the price. Selling a home is a big decision and you have to consider the negatives along with the positives. Is this a smart time for me to sell? Well in this market, it is if you are ‘buying up’ (a higher-priced home). How much could I possibly lose on this sale? Is my bottom line realistic? Remember, buyers don’t care how much you “think” your home is worth. You have to put yourself in a buyer’s position. They’re going to do their research by visiting homes that are similar to yours in your neighborhood. They will research what the comparables have sold for in the past few months. You want to price your home to sell, and not have a ‘for sale’ sign in your yard for multiple seasons.

Third, does your home show well? When you walk into your home, do you have to weave in and out of the clutter like a gauntlet? Though you might like the way your home looks, not everyone has the same taste as you. You want to clear out as much junk as possible. The less, the better. For paint and carpet, neutral colors also help the buyer to better picture themselves in your home. Again, remember to always put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Wouldn’t you want to walk into a sharp, clean looking home? Make it happen!

Lastly, are you marketing your home enough? There are many methods for marketing your home, but only a handful are effective. Your real estate agent should help you with this step. A HomeZill Agent will show you the best methods for getting the most exposure through online and traditional marketing tactics. They have done countless hours of research to come up with the most effective marketing strategy for selling a home in the shortest period of time. If 85% of home buyers start their home search online, then shouldn’t it be important that your Realtor has a huge online presence? HomeZill.com and HomeZillblog.com generate a TON of targeted traffic from shopping home buyers.

To reiterate the aforementioned, the most important factor when selling your home is PRICE! Make sure that it is feasible to sell your home because if you have to accept your bottom line, you should be satisfied with it.

To speak with a Re/Max real estate professional about how we can best serve your real estate needs in Northern Virginia, Washington DC or Maryland, contact us at 1-888-998-9455 or info@homezill.com.

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Each year, many do-it-yourself-ers eager to save money take the plunge by trying the ‘ole “For Sale By Owner” route to sell their home. These brave soldiers venture out into the marketplace, to face head-on, the duties of marketing, pricing, showing, negotiating, scheduling, screening, and paperwork. Though I do give them credit for their motivated efforts, many FSBO’s must learn by trial and error, the value of a real estate professional.

FSBO sales in 1987 (20%) … in 2006 (12%)

40% of all FSBO’s sold their home to someone they knew prior to the sale. Therefore only 7% of all home sales in 2006 were FSBO’s sold on the open market. The other 5% of FSBO’s were simply private sales without a real estate agent involved.

Homes sold with the help of a real estate agent in 2006 sold on average for 32% more than FSBO sales. The typical FSBO home sold for $187,200 compared to $247,000 for agent-assisted home sales.

This statistic means that even if you ARE successful in selling your home on your own, you won’t necessary save any money. What if you just did all that work and netted the same amount as if you hired a real estate agent, how much would that suck? This is the reason why a GOOD real estate professional will always have a job.

FSBO Methods Used to Market Home:

• Friends/neighbors (53%)
• Yard Sign (51%)
• Newspaper ad (31%)
• Open House (29%)
• Listing on the Internet (22% )

Most Difficult Tasks for FSBO Sellers:

• Preparing/fixing up home for sale (18%)
• Understanding paperwork (16%)
• Getting the right price (11%)
• Attracting potential buyers (9%)
• Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale (9%)

***Data provided by 2006-2007 National Association of Realtors

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Foreclosures in Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC have been fueling price depreciation and a glut of housing inventory over the past several months. Today, the White House announced their policy to freeze subprime interest rates for 5 years in order to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure. The deal with the mortgage industry is “a step in the right direction” after the increasing number of foreclosures have driven home prices down, hurt neighborhoods and threatened the economy.

The plan will not effect everyone facing foreclosure, but only consumers with subprime loans, which account for 47% of recent foreclosures. The plan only applies for people living in their homes and who have not missed any mortgage payments. Officials say they hope to save 300,000 families from falling victim to foreclosure proceedings and help curtail declining homes prices and access inventory over the next few years.

Many home owners unaffected by the plan are voicing their anger as they feel that the government should not step in to ’save’ people who made poor decisions to lock themselves in risky subprime loans…”Why should we have to pay for our high mortgage if subprime borrowers get an easy out?”

I’ll leave this up for discussion. Do you think the government should intervene in a situation like this? Should they specify only certain “subprime” borrowers? Is it fair to other homeowners facing foreclosure with similar adjusting rates that are not “subprime”?

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