When it comes to staging a home for sale, sellers should create a warm, inviting yet neutral atmosphere that will appeal to as many potential buyers as possible. The good news is that sellers don’t need to do a complete design overhaul to get a great result.

Coldwell Banker Rhodes offers seven simple staging tips to help boost a home’s appeal and give owners a competitive edge to help sell their home.

• Stage rooms with one purpose.  Rooms that have many uses can confuse or even deter homebuyers, so staging rooms with one purpose is vital.  Determine who your most likely target market will be, whether it’s young professionals with no kids, families, or even empty nesters.  Then present your areas to fit their needs.  If you’ve been using a room as a guest room/kids playroom/home office, pick the one use that best suits your buyers.
• Tackle the easy “do-it-yourself” projects. In a Coldwell Banker’s consumer survey of first time buyers, the vast majority said move-in conditions are very important in their search.  Spruce up your home by replacing outdated kitchen and bathroom fixtures.  Add a fresh coat of paint.  Repaint or refinish kitchen cabinets and update with new hardware.
• Focus on the living areas.  Potential buyers should envision themselves entertaining friends and family in the living areas of the home.  Make sure those areas feel as spacious as possible by removing any unnecessary furniture to allow for easy traffic flow.
• Make sure the master bedroom appeals to both sexes.  Remember that the master bedroom is a room that a couple will be sharing, so the décor should appeal to both sexes.  It should feel like a calm and peaceful refuge, not a frilly boudoir.  Remove any feature that seems too gender-specific and paint the walls a neutral colour.
• Clear away family photos and mementos.  Buyers want to picture their family living in a home, not the previous owners. Put away family portraits, personal collections and knickknacks. Removing these items will also eliminate clutter and ensure that people are focusing on the home, not the photos from the last family vacation.
• Furnish the home, but don’t overdo it.  While an empty house may look spacious, it’s often hard for buyers to visualize their belongings in a home if they’re just looking at bare walls and floors. Leave the basic components that allow the viewer to define each room.
• Don’t forget the outside spaces.  First impressions can play a key role in a consumer’s decision-making process, so don’t neglect your home’s curb appeal.  Make sure the home’s exterior is inviting by trimming the bushes, mowing the lawn and painting faded window trim.  Buyers will appreciate the seller’s efforts with the yard work, and will tend to assume that the same attention to detail has been devoted throughout the property. 

Buying a home is probably the single largest investment you’ll ever make, and you want to ensure you get the best value for your hard-earned dollar. That’s why more and more buyers today are turning to professional Home Inspections.  Prospective home buyers, especially first timers with less experience than a repeat buyer, may not always be able to anticipate potential problems down the line.  Here’s where the Home Inspector can help.

A professional Home Inspector takes a close look beneath what’s on the surface, and then prepares a detailed written report for the prospective buyer on what repair and maintenance work is required now, or is likely to arise in the near future, as well as help you estimate how much this work might cost.  The Inspector should look at such things as the condition of the foundation, electrical service, roof, insulation, and other structural factors. Your Coldwell Banker Rhodes real estate professional can help you connect with an experienced Home Inspection service in your community.

Although costs will vary, you can probably expect to spend a few hundred dollars for an inspection of a single family home.  And who pays for it?  Well, since the benefit of a home inspection is almost entirely that of the buyer, it’s often the buyer who pays the full cost.  However, there’s no set rule, and as with most things in real estate, the cost and who pays for it is negotiable.  All things considered, it’s a small price to pay for the peace of mind it provides, and the negotiating power it can give you as an informed buyer — especially if the inspection indicates that there are major repairs required.  Under such circumstances, you may still decide to proceed with your offer, but take the cost of the upcoming repairs into consideration when you decide on your offer price. 

When it comes to making your offer to purchase, your Coldwell Banker Rhodes professional can advise you how to allow for a satisfactory home inspection as a condition of your offer.  Provided you can obtain the homeowner’s permission, a home inspection can be arranged either before your offer is submitted, or after your conditional offer is accepted by the seller.  If the conditional offer is accepted, the property owner is temporarily held from accepting any other offers during a specified time period, so that you can get the inspection done and review the report before you’re locked in.  More importantly, you have a legal escape route if the report turns up some major negative surprises, such as a bad roof or a crumbling foundation.

Your Coldwell Banker Rhodes sales representative can counsel you further on the best approach to suit your market and your individual situation.

Many financial planners will tell you that one of the best investment strategies you can adopt is to pay off your mortgage in the shortest time frame possible.  Here are a few tips to put your mortgage repayment schedule on the fast track, and with a minimum of hassle and stress.

• Select the most frequent payment option available.  By choosing to make your mortgage payment on a bi-weekly, or better still, a weekly basis versus monthly payments, the result is making extra payments every year.  Over the life of your mortgage loan, this approach can save you thousands of dollars in interest, and pay off your mortgage years earlier.  Best of all, you’ll hardly notice the difference, since you’ll simply be making regular payments.
• Consider a closed mortgage.  Getting the lowest rate mortgage available just seems like common sense, yet a great many homeowners choose open mortgages versus the lower rate closed versions.  Unless you’re expecting a windfall and are planning to pay off your mortgage before the end of it’s term, closed mortgages may be your best choice.  Although you can’t add extra money whenever you wish, most closed mortgages allow for an annual lump sum payment, perhaps ten percent of the loan.  Talk to your lender to find out what provisions their closed mortgages offer for repayment.  In most cases, you’ll find that the lower rate closed mortgage offers you the best alternative.
• Shop around for mortgages.  Gone are the days of “one-stop financial shopping” when people routinely arranged for mortgages at the same place where they did their banking.  Your mortgage represents one of the biggest financial commitments of your life, so it pays to do some research and a little comparison shopping.  There may also be some financing options available to you that you haven’t even considered.  Ask your Coldwell Banker Rhodes real estate professional to tell you more.
• Lock in rates while they’re at their most affordable.  A good way to protect yourself against a potential increase in interest rates is to get pre-qualified for a mortgage, and lock in your interest rate now with your lender.  A difference of even a quarter percent in interest can add up to thousands of dollars over the life of a mortgage.  Rates are very favorable right now, so why not protect yourself and lock in the current rates while you look for a home, and avoid the risk of paying a higher mortgage payment if rates go up before you close.

As a prospective home buyer, you’ve probably got a lot of questions about the buying process, and you may be wondering whether you need an up-to-date property survey.  For buyers, the answer is generally, yes.  However, rather than simply relying on the short answer, you need a clear understanding of when and why you should have one done.

Property surveys are usually done for the benefit of the buyer.  A property survey usually resembles a map, and includes dimensions and written details of the property and every permanent structure on it. The original survey is carried out with the construction of a house.  Over time, improvements may be made to the property, such as fences, a deck, a pool, garden shed, and so on.  Additions to the house itself, such as a porch, or even an extension may also have been built after the original construction.  

In addition to structures, certain easements – that is, the right to access the property – may have been added to allow power, water or telephone companies access for service purposes.  If such changes have occurred since the last survey was done and do not appear on the most recent document,  then the survey is out of date and thus will have little value in the real estate transaction

If the survey shows certain deficiencies, such as a fence that’s located outside the property line, you as the buyer can then ask the seller to correct the problem before completing the purchase.  Your Coldwell Banker Rhodes real estate professional can prepare an offer to purchase that is conditional upon receiving an up-to-date survey that’s acceptable to you.  Also, be aware that some lending institutions require the buyer to provide a current survey of the property being purchased before they will grant final approval of a mortgage loan.  You can ask your lender about this when you arrange to be pre-qualified for a mortgage.

When a seller has a current survey for their listing, it’s a great plus, since this can help to ensure the correct information is properly disclosed, which in turn helps your transaction to move smoothly to completion.  It should be noted that not every transaction requires that a new survey be completed at the time of sale.  It depends on when the last survey was completed and whether any improvements or changes have taken place since then.  A survey that was completed a few years ago may be completely valid if there have been no further changes.

If a survey is needed, and no up-to-date version is available, you may be wondering who pays the cost to have a new survey done.  The time to raise this question is during the negotiations with the seller.  The seller is under no obligation to provide any such documentation, or to participate in the cost of a new one, unless it’s spelled out in the offer. Ask your Coldwell Banker Rhodes salesperson for their expert advice on this and any other real estate matter.

Even with today’s very affordable mortgage rates, the real estate market can still present a challenge to many people wanting to step onto the property ladder.  First-time buyers in particular are finding they have to make adjustments as they plan for their dream of home ownership.  Some young people are staying at home longer in order to save for a down payment.  Other would-be homebuyers are scaling down their expectations, while still others are choosing a home with a rental unit to help with mortgage payments.

There are some other creative alternatives available to help First Time Buyers start to build some equity in the real estate market that entail multiple ownership of the same property.  One option that may be of interest to family groups or close friends is the joint purchase of a multiple-unit dwelling, such as a duplex.  Such a property might be jointly purchased by two groups of buyers, with each family occupying one of the property’s units. 

The duplex approach can work well in situations where young people plan to marry, leaving their parents as “empty nesters”.  In this scenario, the family home is sold, with the parents buying one unit of a new duplex outright, and then banking their surplus funds, perhaps for retirement.  The younger generation then assumes the more manageable mortgage payments on the remaining half of the property.  In this way, they can start to build equity immediately, without having to come up with a large down payment, or taking on a big mortgage.

In less formal arrangements, two couples may elect to jointly buy one single-family residence and share all the living space. This can sometimes be a stressful situation, and the best chance for success is usually when there is a family relationship between the two couples, such as two siblings with their spouses, where there is already some history of living together in a shared space.

Whatever method you choose to ease the cost of homeownership, the most important thing to remember is to get the all the details worked out before you buy.  Everyone involved in the purchase should agree on all sub-lease and re-sale provisions “up front”, and in writing.  For example, can one party move out and sublet their living space to someone else? Also, what happens when someone wants to sell? Does one party have the right to buy out the other’s interest?  If so, how will a fair price be determined?  And how long will the other party have to come up with the funds?  Or, is the property simply put on the market with all parties sharing the proceeds? 

In addition to the terms of ownership, the ongoing care of the property should also be considered.  Who will be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the property?  What services such as landscaping or snow removal will be contracted out to service providers, and how will this cost be shared? How will the cost of major repairs be handled?  

As you can see there are a lot of variables to consider.  Such important issues should not be left to chance.  Don’t expect that they’ll be sorted out easily when the time comes. The best course of action is to get a lawyer involved and draw up an agreement that clearly sets out the rights and obligations of all co-owners.

Remember, when you’re thinking of creative ways to ease the cost of owning a home, talk it over first with the expert.  Tell your real estate salesperson all about your plans, so they can ensure that you are shown homes that conform to the appropriate zoning and municipal by-laws.  Best of all, your Coldwell Banker Rhodes real estate salesperson may be able to suggest options that you’d never considered, and help you make your home ownership dream a reality.

One of the questions most frequently asked by homeowners considering a renovation is  “What’s worth doing?”  Well, the answer isn’t a simple one, because it all depends on what you want to get out of it.  Is your purpose primarily to improve your property value, or increase your enjoyment of your home, or a combination of the two?

If you’re thinking primarily of increasing your home’s resale value, you should be aware that the cost of professional improvements to a home will very often not be recovered in a corresponding increase in your property’s value.  A home’s list price is essentially a reflection of the demand from buyers for a home’s features and location.  Just because you’ve invested a certain amount of money in your home renovation doesn’t necessarily translate into adding that same figure onto your potential resale price.  However, if you’re doing some of the work yourself, there’s a far better chance that you can recoup the costs of your improvement.

Generally, the areas to focus on in terms of increasing your resale value are the kitchen and bathrooms, since these are the critical areas that frequently are deciding factors in buying a home.  However, even in these areas, make sure your improvements are limited to what’s clearly visible in a quick walk-through.  New cabinets, counters, or fixtures will all win points, but upgraded plumbing is an expensive undertaking that will add little to the overall appeal of your home.  Prospective buyers will expect reliable plumbing as a “given”, and will not be willing to pay a premium to get it.   Why not get some expert advice in this area from your Coldwell Banker Rhodes real estate professional?  Even if you’re not planning on selling just yet, your Coldwell Banker Rhodes representative would be happy to talk to you to confirm what features are in demand by buyers in your area, and to counsel you on where you can concentrate your resources to get a good return.

If you’re planning on a renovation primarily to enhance your family’s enjoyment of your current home, you’ve never picked a better time to do it.  The cost of financing a renovation is very affordable, with interest rates at a forty-year low.  Basically, you can focus on what would please your family, but do keep in mind that you will eventually still want to sell that home, and some improvements can actually reduce your chances of future resale.  If it’s a toss-up between a couple of potential renovations, you should lean towards the one that will be the most appealing to the maximum number of buyers in the future.  For example, a home theatre or media room is a current trend that would be enjoyed by just about anyone.  On the other hand, a swimming pool can be costly to heat and time-consuming to maintain, so many buyers would not want to even consider a home with a pool.  Again, why not have a chat with your Coldwell Banker Rhodes real estate professional?  They’ll be happy to give you the benefit of their experience, and help you decide what’s worth renovating in your home.

To Buy or Rent – that is the question!

For a lot of people, the number one reason they choose to rent versus buy their own home is their fear of signing their name to a long-term mortgage agreement.  But let’s face it – very few of us can go through life without paying for our place of residence in one form or another.  In that sense, you’ve already made a commitment to a fixed schedule of payments for housing — whether it’s in the form of a mortgage or a rental lease.  In actual fact, one of the major advantages of a mortgage agreement is that it usually covers a longer time period than a lease — which can work in your favor.  Since no one can guarantee what your rental payments may be two or even five years down the road, your mortgage agreement actually protects you from the increases – compounding annually — you can often encounter when you rent.

Nevertheless, some people are still intimidated by the total debt that a mortgage agreement represents.  Yet if you added up all the rental payments you could expect to pay over an extended period of time, you may find that going the mortgage route is actually the more affordable of the two options.  With today’s relatively low mortgage rates, and creative financing options, the cost of carrying a home may be lower than what you might expect.  Your Coldwell Banker Rhodes real estate professional can show you how owning your own home may be more affordable than you ever imagined. 

While making mortgage payments may actually be more affordable than paying rental costs, let’s not lose sight of the biggest financial benefit of buying a home.

The simple fact of the matter is, when you rent, you’re slowly but surely building someone else’s ownership equity in the property.  On the other hand, when you buy a home, a portion of your mortgage payment is building personal equity for you.  And if sometime in the future, you decide to sell, that equity is something you’ll take with you as you make your next move. 

Lastly, let’s not forget the creative freedom and pride of ownership that comes with owning your own property.  When you buy, you decide the extent of home improvements, and decor changes you want to make.  You decide on color schemes and where you want to build that bookcase.  Maybe best of all, you gain the equity that those improvements add to your home.   Spending money to improve a rental property just puts value in someone else’s pocket. 

If you’re tired of paying off someone else’s home for them, talk to your Coldwell Banker Rhodes real estate professional for a no obligation consultation and find out how to make your dream of home ownership a reality.

Home Energy Saving Ideas

Energy costs can take a big bite out of any homeowner’s budget, so you need to know how to be energy-wise.  Here are a few quick and easy ways to cut your energy bills with a minimum of time and effort. 

One of the biggest energy expenses is your home heating bill, so let’s start there.  You can significantly reduce your energy costs by installing a thermostat with an automatic timer that allows you to set the temperature back by a few degrees at bedtime, and returns the temperature to a more comfortable level before you get up.  After all, why heat the whole house, when an extra quilt will keep you toasty and warm for a lot less money?  On the flip side, when the temperatures ramp up, pre-set timers can reduce air conditioning costs too.

Similarly, if you have a room that isn’t used every day, such as a guest room or workshop, consider shutting the air register, and closing the door until you plan to use the space. Your furnace or air conditioning system won’t have to work so hard and you’ll pocket the savings while the rest of your home environment stays in the comfort zone.

You can also reduce the effect of ambient solar heating in summer and heat loss in winter with lined draperies or installing window blinds.  Adding weather-stripping to seal drafts around doors can also result in big energy savings.

Old appliances may also be draining more power than you might think.  Did you know that a refrigerator is one the biggest energy users in the house?  So, if you have an old appliance that needs repair, don’t just look at the cost of fixing it, also think about how much energy it uses. Today’s newer appliances are far more energy efficient than their predecessors, so buying used appliances or repairing an old unit may not be the bargain that you think it is! 

Insulation is an energy saver that works hard for you all year long.  A one-time investment keeps your home cooler in summer and warmer in winter and the cost of installation can be recaptured in energy savings.  Many local utilities and government bodies offer special incentives or rebates to help offset the cost of energy-saving improvements, so be sure to investigate what options are available in your market.  Your Coldwell Banker Rhodes real estate professional may also be a helpful source of information about local programs.

To paraphrase an old real estate saying – the three most important factors for a stress-free move are: planning, planning, and more planning.  Plan your move at least one month in advance.  Set up an expense log, and start lining up your suppliers – movers, storage companies, delivery of new appliances or furniture.  Don’t forget painters, carpet installers and other services working on your new house prior to your move-in date. 

Now is the time to minimize the number of items you have to move.  Discard unwanted items, hold a garage sale, and collect boxes.  Notify friends, relatives, the post office, and companies you do business with of your change of address.  Don’t forget about those companies you might contact only once a year, such as life or car insurance companies.

Contact your real estate lawyer to confirm who will be handling the changeover of various utilities and services.  Typically, utilities such as power, gas, water, etc. are handled by your lawyer as part of the final adjustments on the sale’s closing.  Other services, particularly cable television, internet and telephone services, you’ll probably be instructed to handle on your own.  Try to schedule utilities and service connections before you arrive at your new house – and book your appointments as far out in advance as possible, especially if you plan to move at month end, or you might find yourself on a waiting list.

Make a floor plan of the new house and plan where everything will go.  Don’t guess – take measurements of room dimensions and major furniture items and then lay everything out.  You don’t want pay movers an hourly rate to move Grandma’s piano four times because it just doesn’t fit!  When you’re packing,  label boxes clearly by contents and by room, and on moving day, provide movers with a copy of your floor plan so they’ll know exactly where to put the boxes for ‘Johnny’s bedroom’.  Remember to provide plastic sheets to protect carpets.

Prepare a list of the items you wish to move personally such as jewelry and precious breakables.  Pack your pillows, a set of sheets and blankets, along with your nightclothes, a towel and toiletries to take with you in your car. Then at the end of a long and tiring day, you can get ready for bed without having to sort through 50 boxes.  You might also pack a lunch complete with utensils, napkins, condiments, (and perhaps a wine opener?) to enjoy your first meal in your home as a picnic on the living room floor.  And if you like a cup of coffee in the morning, you’ll want to pack the coffee maker and all the fixings to take in your car as well. 

These little things can add up to a pleasant adventure on moving day, rather than an exercise in frustration for you and your family.  Ask your Coldwell Banker Rhodes real estate representative for more advice about hassle-free moves.  They’ve been through this with hundreds of customers, so they’re the experts! 

There’s a lot of information out there for sellers staging an Open House, but surprisingly few guidelines for the people who come to view them.  For some, an Open House viewing may simply be an impulse activity to satisfy their curiosity about a neighbour’s home.  However, for serious buyers, especially First Time Buyers who have limited experience in seeing different home styles and layouts, visiting Open Houses can be a very worthwhile exercise.

To plan an effective Open House tour, you should start with a map.  Plot out the addresses of where the Open Houses are located, and the times of showings to ensure that you make the most productive use of your time.

If you don’t already know the neighbourhood, then that’s the first place to start.  Look at your map, and see where major transportation links are located, as well as parks, schools, shopping and amenities.  If everything you see on the map looks good, then start out with a driving tour of the neighbourhood itself, before you devote some time to viewing individual houses.

If you plan on visiting an Open House, and you’re already working with a real estate salesperson, be sure to notify them in advance.  Your sales representative can be a very valuable source of information about the neighborhood, and may possibly even be familiar with the individual property.  Also, depending on the rules of your local real estate board, visiting an Open House without your agent present may result in conferring certain rights on the salesperson who is showing the property.  If you discuss this with your salesperson before your visit, you’re ensured of having the right person to look after your interests when it’s time to make an offer.  Of course, if you aren’t yet working with a sales representative, Open Houses can provide a great opportunity to not only look for the right house, but the right salesperson.  What better way to see them in action, and find out quickly if you communicate on the same wavelength.

As you tour an Open House, try to see past the furnishings, and any personal clutter, and focus on whether the space and layout works for your needs.  Don’t assume that what you see is what you get!  Many things you see at the viewing, such as window treatments, light fixtures, appliances and even that hot tub on the back deck may not be included in the list price.  Check details on the feature sheet and verify what’s included with the agent hosting the Open House.

When touring an Open House, be direct and ask questions.  Remember, this is no time to be diplomatic.  The real estate professional showing the home realizes that it may not be right for everyone.  By keeping your comments open and direct, you help the sales representative to better understand your needs, and offer solutions to meet them.