Midtown Tulsa Real Estate - Lori Cain: December 2009

The bloom is off the rose on the $8000 tax credit with a flurry of activity to close in November, but just when you thought that it was over, it was renewed. It doesn't look like it has caused another uptick in contracts like before, but in 2010 I do believe that some will be rushing to meet the deadline. One complication could be rising interest rates. Yes, if it reaches 6.5% that is still incredibly low, but it can take buyers out of the system who are young and first time buyers. They didn't experience double digit interest rates like us older folks, so they might sit on their hands instead of signing a contract waiting for a return of 5%. But there is a way I think we can get them off the fence, and deal with higher rates. It is going back to a program that has been around for some time, the 2/1 and 3/2/1 buydown. This is when a seller prepays interest for the buyer upfront at closing, and reducing the payment for a specific period of time. Let's start with the 2/1 buydown.

I am using a new spreadsheet from Pat Zaby at www.patzaby.com. This is a simplified version of one of his Excel spreadsheets. I am not being paid by Pat, but I have used his programs for 16 years and highly recommend them. The chart shows a comparison between giving a price reduction on the house, or using the funds for a buydown. As you can see, the buyer benefits from a reduced payment in the first two years greater than the price reduction, and the percentage of closing cost paid leaves you with some room for other buyer expenses. Here is the really fun part. They don't just get the tax credit, they also get to take the $4,281 as a tax deduction in the first two years. remember that this is prepaid interest, and interest is deductible. That is turbocharging the tax credit with an added value. Now lets look at a chart of the 3/2/1 buydown.

 

We are taking a bit more expensive home and using a 3 year example of the buydown. The closing cost are still around 4% and look at the savings here, over $500 per month in the first year. I am not a crazy optimist but I do believe that in the next few years, our economy will be going stong again. I listened to a Charlie Rose interview with Warren Buffett, and he still strongly believes in the inventiveness and resolve of the American people. Our job as realtors is to give good financial advice to our clients and owning a home still has the same tax value it always had, but we need to create a bridge over troubled waters for them to get to that next rise in the American economy. The buydown could just do that.

 

 

Many years ago, when my favorite aunt died, my parents - as the geographically closest siblings - took charge of cleaning out her house, and distributing her furniture and other household goods to her many nieces and nephews.  They discovered that the den and basement were full of "stuff" - old newspapers, memorabilia, files about her many interests - and bags of unopened mail!  Apparently, in addition to never throwing anything away, my aunt had latterly been unable to cope with the daily influx of mail and all of the decisions that demanded.  What a mess!  Unpaid bills, yes, but also undeposited checks - many outdated.

About 5 years ago, my parents acknowledged that Dad, who had had a number of strokes, could no longer cope with living in a 2-story house - even a chair lift was insufficient.  So, they decided to sell their beautiful home, and move to a condo.  My mother, then a feisty 87-year-old, was able to take charge of sorting and clearing the house, mustering a veritable army of helpers - including me.  Since I live 600 miles away, I was able to visit only once / month.  My task, then, was going through cartons of "stuff," to determine what was still of value to us, and what could be thrown out or given away.  Guess what?  Some of those cartons contained my aunt's papers and photos - still hanging around, after 20 years.  Of course, there were also cartons of items from my parents' life together - and some of my own souvenirs and clippings.

Time passed faster than I could complete the sorting during my once / month forays to the North, so a number of these cartons found their way to the storage room at the condo.  My father died last year.  This year, Mother found that she could no longer cope with the condo and making meals, and chose to move to a retirement home, where she would have a large measure of independence, but others would make the meals.  Last Spring, then, I found myself faced with some of those same cartons.  I made more progress on the cartons, this time, but could not get to the drawers and shelves, which my mother - legally blind from macular degeneration - was now unable to address, herself.

The move from the condo to the retirement home was complex, involving 5 different moves:  most to the retirement home, a lot to me in New Jersey, some to a neighboring city for nieces and great-nieces, some to the Salvation Army, and some to the dump.  A wonderful moving planner, who specializes in the needs of the elderly, organized everything for us.  Nevertheless, a lot of Mother's household belongings that she no longer had space for, were moved with her.  And so, the sorting and tossing has continued, once / month, ever since.

Through all of this year's moving stresses, I have been thinking of the first piece of advice we give our sellers: get rid of everything you no longer need, and don't plan to take with you.  In other words, "tidy up" and de-clutter your house, so that it looks more spacious to potential buyers.  It's difficult advice for many people to take, because it involves a lot of decision-making and sheer labor.  Ultimately, however, making that effort leads to an earlier sale and a much smoother move.

Look around your own home.  How much of that advice should you be taking, yourself?  Even if you don't plan to move in the near future, consider the challenges you will face when you do have to move - and are just that much older, with that much more "stuff" to deal with.  Suppose a calamity should strike - as they do, far too often - and you are unable to make those decisions, yourself.  Who will be left to cope with your collection of memorabilia and "stuff"?  Your children?  Your grand-children?  A disinterested estate agent?

And so, I recommend that each of us tackle one room each month, and clear it out.  Our homes will look better, we will have a sense of accomplishment, and our families will bless us!  I plan to take my own advice.

 

As a professional property stylist (or home stager), I get to see a lot of rooms. You see, it's my job to help home owners from all different backgrounds, (and with different sorts of properties), to get their homes ready for the ‘for sale' market.

Whilst I do help lots of different people, in different places, I find I'm often helping my home owner friends get a handle on some surprisingly common decorating goofs.

Now, let me just say to you up front, that many of the things on the list I'm about to share with you, aren't really a big deal for you - when you're NOT SELLING YOUR HOME. That's because, when you're not selling, your house is about your wants and needs.  

But when you are selling, that same property isn't about you anymore. It's really about your buyer's wants and needs. Now that it's time to sell, these decorating goofs can damage your chances of a better sale without you even realising. Some of them can cost you big bucks if you're not careful.

With the help of my list of top 20 decorating goofs, you'll be able to see where you might be going wrong. Once you know what to look for; you'll be able to make a few changes that will ultimately help you put your (home's) best foot forward, for a great impression.

1. Poor use of your space

This is all about not defining a room's purpose and I simply have to say that's one of my golden rules. Bedrooms should be shown as bedrooms, dining rooms as dining rooms. This is really what buyers want to see. Not your bedroom as a home gym or your dining room as an office or play room for the kids.

2. A look that's too personal

By too personal I mean a few things, including a room being too formal (AKA uncomfortable), too colourful (AKA a burden to change) or too themed (AKA hard to see past and still a burden to change like in our top picture).

3. A room with too many of your ‘little things'

"It's the little things." How sweet. But no - really, you can have too much of a good thing my friends. Pack up most of your nick-knacks, including porcelain roosters or frogs, dolls, stuffed animals and the like. After all they don't come with the house, do they? Put them away for safe keeping now. In the end it will save you time, and buyers will see more ‘house' and less ‘you'.

4. Over furnishing a room

My next 4 goofs are closely related, but still separate. Check out the photo of the girls room on this page. Here's a girl's bedroom with so much furniture the door can't be closed - at all. Not only does it make the room feel smaller, but it can even make a buyer wonder if the furniture is in fact holding the door up.

 

5. Having furniture that is too big for the room

This is the problem with those furniture showrooms; the furniture seems much smaller compared to the room and the other things around it. But when you get it home, it sucks up your space quicker than a vacuum cleaner. Do you think you could live with just one of the 3 seater sofas in the short term to help you open the room up?

6. Poor furniture placement

In my experience this is most common in bedrooms and living rooms. You might even be familiar with furniture layout I like to call the ‘washing machine effect' see below right for an example. You know when the furniture is lined up against the walls like the spin cycle in your washing machine? It's far better to bring sofas, coffee and side tables in closer together as they make for much better conversational groupings. If you have a large room like the one at the bottom here, don't spread your sofa and coffee tables out, it looks weird. Instead, consider adding another function to the room like perhaps a dining table or another sitting area. Aim to use the furnishings you already have for this one.

7. Poor traffic flow

Grouping your furniture too close together so you can't get past without bumping into furniture, or having to walk through the middle of a seating area in a passage way are also big goofs. This may not be a problem for you, but what about the agent who needs to bring several people through at once? Very often the agent and his/her buyers will need to move around the same room all at the same time. Take that into account before buyer groups' start coming through for a look and plan ahead.

8. Competing with your home's architectural style or location

I can't stress this enough. If you are selling an igloo, then a seaside decorating theme is unlikely to help you sell your house. Same goes for new builds full of antique furnishings. You'll only be limiting your buyer pool in a very big way. That's because buyers in the market for an igloo will expect to see an igloo interior. Keep it simple by being sympathetic to your home's style and location.

9. Blocking a great view of the outdoors

If you have a great view, show it off. I've seen homes by the ocean where overgrown trees and shrubs almost completely blocked the view from the yard or balcony. Buyers had no real idea what was there. You also want to make sure that house hunters can see your place from the kerb. 

10. Having your kid's gear invade almost every room.

It's an easy trap for us parents to fall into. But the reality is it just screams plain old untidy, with an obvious lack of storage. When you're selling, just keep a few of the kids' favourite things on hand, have a container that can be easily filled and then stored, without a lot of fuss, in no time at all.

Have you got any decorating goofs you'd like to share?

Donna Ross Great Impressions Home Staging & Property Styling Sydney and Newcastle Add Style Add Space Sell Better

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions on the changes to the Homebuyer Tax Credit

Question: Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?

Answer: No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who

meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.

Question: I am an existing homeowner. On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a

new home. I have lived in my current home for more than 5 consecutive years and

am within the new income limits. I will go to settlement on November 20. If

President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for

the new $6500 tax credit?

Answer: Yes. The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment

(when the bill is signed). There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The

provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.

Question: I am a firsttime

homebuyer but was not within the prior income limits at the time I

entered into my contract to purchase on October 30, 2009. I will be covered,

however, by the new income limits. If the new rules have been signed into law by the

time I go to settlement, will I be eligible for a credit?

Answer: Yes. The new income limitations go into effect as soon as the President has signed the bill.

The income limit and other eligibility rules will look to your status as of the date of purchase,

which is the settlement date. So if the new rules have been signed when you go to settlement,

you should be eligible for the credit (or a portion of the credit if you're within the phaseout

range).

Question: I am an eligible existing homeowner. I have a fair amount of equity in my home. I

have found a home with a nonnegotiable

price of $825,000. Will I be able to use any

of the $6500 tax credit?

Answer: No. The $800,000 cap on the cost of the purchased home is firm at $800,000. Any amount

above $800,000 makes the home ineligible for any portion of the credit. The $800,000 is an

absolute ceiling.

Question: I owned my home for 10 years, but sold it two years ago year and have been renting

since. If I purchase a home, will I be eligible for the $6500 tax credit if I meet all the

other eligibility tests?

Answer: Yes. Because you lived in the home for more than 5 consecutive years of the previous 8, you

will qualify for the $6500 credit. For example, Say John and his wife bought a home in 2000

and lived there until 2008 when he got a divorce. Whether John has been renting or bought in

the interim, he WOULD INDEED be eligible for the credit because he owned a home and

occupied it as his principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. The

keyword here is "consecutive." As long as he lived in that house for 5 years straight what he

did since 3 years doesn't impact eligibility.

Question: I am an eligible firsttime

homebuyer. I entered into a contract to purchase on

November 1, 2009. Do I have to go to closing before December 1? How does the

extension date affect me?

Answer: You do not have to close before December 1. Once the legislation has been signed, it will be as

if the Nov 30 date had never existed. Therefore, so long as the contract settles before April 30

(or July 1, worst case), the purchaser will be eligible for the credit

http://www.daryldatus.com

Buyers are on the hunt for the house that's just right for them. They aren't using the stale old logic that the best thing to do is to wait for the "Spring" market to kick in. BUYERS ARE LOOKING NOW! They want to take advantage of the low interest rates, the ability they have to qualify for a mortgage today, and -- most importantly -- the home buyer tax credit before the April 30, 2010 deadline hits.

If you have a home that might fit a description below, contact me, or forward this to someone you know who does. Don't worry if it's a potential short sale because we are a good resource to get anyone through the short sale process as best as possible.

Check back for more additions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

See all the houses for sale in Maplewood, South Orange, and West Orange.

During these cold, dark winter months in the Seattle area, it is important to welcome prospective buyers to your vacant home.  The exterior lights should be on timers so they are on at dusk and off at day break. 

Interior lamps (not overhead lights) should also be on when it gets dark outside.  We suggest leaving the lamps on 24/7 or put them on timers to go on around 3 p.m. and off about 10 p.m.

Buyers will often drive by your listing prior to scheduling a tour.  If your house looks warm and inviting, a positive first impression has been made.

And remember...keep the temperature comfortable, no lower than 66 degrees.  A cold house will send buyers fleeing back to their warm car!

Staging by SISTERS Interior Redesign, Edmonds, WA, 425.776.7890, www.sistersredesign.com

Give your listing the advantage of professional home staging.  Contact us today for a complimentary quote.

We look forward to working with you!