By Lee Keadle

When potential buyers drive up to your house, the first thing they see is the front of your house. And, buyers know that usually the exterior of the house is a good indicator of the inside of the house. The old saying that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover does not apply to real estate! So, the front of your home can make a very important first impression on potential buyers. As a seller, you want to make the best first impression possible. You want your home to have curb appeal and make buyers want to see the rest of the house. We’ve included seven ways to improve your curb appeal:

1) Mow the lawn regularly while your home is on the market. If you have patches in your yard where grass doesn’t grow, you can either sow some grass seeds or sod the areas. If the bare area is at the base of a tree, you could turn the spot into a flower bed.

2) While we’re on the subject of flower beds, be sure to keep these areas weeded when trying to sell your home. Adding pine straw or mulch can freshen up your yard and make your yard look well cared for.

3) Add some color to your yard by planting flowers. You can use them in beds, hanging baskets, or flower pots. Planting flowers can help to liven up a house, especially if the home is older or more traditional. And, be sure to pick vibrant colors over pastels or white in order to give the full effect.

4) Clean your windows. People always look out of the windows when they’re viewing a home. So, cleaning the windows will help the view from the interior and the exterior!

5) Use a pressure washer to clean sidewalks and driveways. Pressure washing cement, especially, can make it look as though it was freshly poured.

6) Make your front door inviting. Since most potential buyers enter your home through the front door, you want to pay attention to this part of your home. If there are any shoe marks at the base (or hand marks near the handle), be sure to clean those. Depending on the type of door you have, you can also give it a fresh coat of paint.

7) Examine your home’s exterior. If your home has siding, check to see how clean it is. If you see collected dirt or pollen, you can clean these surfaces fairly easily with a pressure washer. If your home is painted, check to make sure the paint is not chipping away. If your home was painted recently, you may just want to hose off (or gently pressure wash) any visible dirt. If your home is in need of new paint, be sure to choose neutral colors.

Improving your curb appeal can help in two ways. First, if the home looks inviting in the pictures from the MLS report or from advertisements, potential buyers will want to go see it. So, your home will be shown more often. The second way that curb appeal helps is almost more important than the first. Since you can’t make a first impression twice, the exterior of your home (along with the yard) will tell the buyers immediately whether the home has been taken care of. The buyers will also be able to tell how they feel about the home in general when they drive up to it. If you think that your home may be lacking curb appeal, be sure to follow our seven tips to improve your home’s appeal!

Lee Keadle is a full-time real estate agent in Charleston, SC. He works with a team of three agents to give buyers and sellers the best services possible. You can search for homes and vacant land on our website at http://www.SearchForCharlestonRealEstate.com

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From MSNBC:

1. Cozy (too small)

2. Charming (too old)

3. Original Condition (appliances are 50 years old)

4. Needs TLC (it’s a dump)

5. Conveniently located (noisy)

6. Desirable neighborhood (this little house has been way over-priced because the neighborhood has some snob appeal)

7. Efficient kitchen (too small to fit two adults)

8. One car garage (you can drive your Chevy in but can’t get out)

9. Peek at the park/river/mountains (if you angle your mirror just so…)

10. Useable land (no trees)

11. Beachfront steal (no hurricane insurance available at any price)

12. Country Living (too far from anywhere to drive to work)

13. Must see inside (outside is ugly)

14. Unique (hard to sell)

15. Just available (previous owner just died on the premises, hope you don’t mind.

Choosing the location for your business may be crucial for your business success and growth. CNNMoney has great suggestions for business owners on choosing the right location:

1. Stay on the beaten path. The old cliché about “location, location, location” is one that you can’t afford to ignore. Rather than assume that you know your customers’ preferences, ask them where they would like to do business with you. When Jacqueline Williams noticed sales slowing at Sterling Realtors, her firm in Middletown, Conn., she surveyed her clients to find out how she could serve them better. It turned out that many considered her office inconvenient. She had set up shop near the Wesleyan University campus, where she had started out finding homes for professors. In her research off-campus clients said it would be easier to drop by her office if it was in the downtown business district. She ended up moving to a building in that area.

The result: Revenue picked up, not only because many potential clients noticed her shingle while driving by, but also thanks to an increase in client referrals. Recently, Williams renovated the space after buying out her partner’s share of both the 17-year-old company and the building. She re-opened her offices with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the mayor.

2. Consider rush hour. If you do business in a densely populated area, choosing a location right off a major highway or near public transportation may have a big effect on your team’s productivity, says Matthew Adler, executive vice president of the Adler Group, a Miami-based commercial real estate firm. It is tough to schedule morning meetings if key employees are continually getting stuck in traffic. “You need to be in a place that your workforce can get to easily,” says Adler.

How best to figure out whether the location you’re considering fits the bill? Jason Weissman, principal in Boston Realty Advisors in Boston, suggests you pinpoint your office location on a map, then draw a circle around the spot to see just what communities in the area would be no more than an hour’s commute. Or, try MapQuest (mapquest.com), to see how long the estimated commute time is for a few likely nearby towns.

3. Follow the talent. Will your company need to hire employees with specialized skills or a high level of education? If so, setting up shop near an existing talent pool will make your job easier, says Weissman. For instance, if you anticipate that you will need to hire IT workers, picking an office near a university with a strong tech program will put you at an advantage in winning top employees. To locate metropolitan areas with large concentrations of whatever skills you need, try the Bureau of Labor Statistics site (www.bls.gov).

4. Keep your competitors close. Doing business down the street – or hallway – from your rivals may seem like a roadmap to bankruptcy, but it can be a smart choice. In New York City’s fashion industry, for instance, many accessories makers run showrooms in the same building, because it is more convenient for buyers from other cities to visit. “When customers come in from out of town, this makes it easy for them,” says David Levy, principal of Adams & Co. Real Estate in New York City. “They just spend the day going from office to office.” If you have a slightly different niche from other firms in your area, you will probably be able to pick up clients from each other. “Companies need to be close to their competitors,” says Chad Bemingham, a vice president with CBIZ-Gibraltar Real Estate Services in Chicago. Commercial realtors can tell you if there are such buildings in your area. Or, try trade publications for your industry or local business journals; they sometimes include real estate listings.

5. Know when to spring for pricey digs. Not every company needs to invest in Class A space. In some fields, starting up in the garage is a badge of honor. But if you work with big-name corporate clients who will visit you frequently – or you are selling your expertise in creating the right image – you can’t afford to scrimp on your office for long.

Just ask Peter Madden, president of AgileCat, who just moved his seven-year old Philadelphia branding and corporate identity-consulting firm to high-rent Center City. He left behind a smaller place in a less-desirable neighborhood. Although he is now paying six times more to do business from his new headquarters, he expects to be able to attract enough high-profile clients to make his investment pay off. “In this region, if you’re not in this part of town, you’re not looked at as a major player,” he says.

The key of course, is making sure you generate enough sales to pay the tab. Rule of thumb: Manufacturing companies should generally pay no more than 20 percent of gross sales for rent, according to Levy. Service businesses, which have lower overhead, can go up to 30 percent.

6. Push for flexibility. If the real estate market in your area is soft, your landlord may be willing to negotiate. Ask for both the right to cancel your lease with a specified amount of notice and the freedom to sub-lease the space.

By Andrea Carangelo

If you are thinking about refinancing a loan or requesting your private mortgage insurance (PMI) be removed, you should know your loan to value ratio.

It is easy to figure out using these steps:

If you will be applying for a loan:

1) Start with the purchase price of the property as the value for the property. (example: $150,000)

2) Subtract the amount of your down payment ($20,000).

3) Take the loan amount which will be the purchase price minus the down payment ($130,000)

4) Divide loan amount ($130,000) by the purchase price ($150,000=value). It would look like this: $130,000 divided by $150,000, which equals 0.87, or 87 percent=your ratio.

5) Use this number with your lender when referring to your loan.

Most loans with an LTV over 80 percent require PMI.

If You Already Have a Loan:

1) You should get an appraisal of your property. This is the only way to get an accurate assessment of its value. If you are just doing this so you are aware of your loan to value ratio, you can save the appraisal fee and estimate the value by comparing your property to similar homes in your neighborhood that have sold. This will be the value number for the equation

2) Look on your most recent loan statement to find out how much you owe (your balance). This will be the loan number for the equation.

3) Divide the loan figure by the value figure. This is your ratio.

If you are requesting the removal of PMI, you will have to get an appraisal. In removing PMI, you may request in writing to your current lender that the PMI be removed if the ratio is 80 percent or less. If you request an appraisal and the value is not high enough, you will still pay for the appraisal.

When you apply for a loan, mortgage loan or any other type of credit, Lenders use your debt to income ratio (how much you owe on credit cards and loans compared to how much you earn) to help evaluate your credit.

How You Can Figure Your Debt To Income Ratio:

1) Add up your total net monthly income. This includes your monthly wages and any overtime, commissions or bonuses that are guaranteed; plus alimony payments received, if applicable. If your income varies, figure the monthly average for the past two years. Include any money earned from any other additional income.

2) Add up your monthly debt. This includes all of your credit card bills, loan and mortgage payments. If you rent, be sure to include your rent payments.

3) Divide your total monthly debt by your total monthly income. This is your total debt to income ratio.

4) If your ratio is higher than 0.36, which professionals would call a score of 36. The lower the better. If the score is higher than 36 it might cause an increase in the interest rate or the down payment on a loan you apply for.

Remember:

When you total your monthly debts, use the minimum payment on your statements.
When calculating your income, a lender usually only considers money from a job that you have been at for at least two years.
Unreported earned income cannot be used in the calculation.

AC Associates helping individuals across the United States reach their financial goals. We offer a program to Home Owners on how to successfully sell their home by offering Owner Financing. Purchaser of Owner Financed Mortgage Notes, Deeds of Trust, Lawsuit Settlements, Life Insurance, Lottery/Contest Winnings and Seller Financed Business Notes.
http://www.acassociatesusa.com

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By Andrew Webber

Are you thinking it might be the right time to buy a house? If so, you need to give some serious consideration to the type of agent you will use to help you in your search for your dream home. While many first-time home buyers may not realize it, the agent they choose may not always be able to act in their best interests. This is because there are basically three different types of real estate agents.

Seller’s Agent

The most traditional type of real estate agent is known as a seller’s agent. This agent automatically owes a responsibility to the seller to get them the best price and terms possible for the property. As a result this means that they cannot tell you whether the seller would accept a lower price or better terms.

Dual Agent

Some agent’s are what is known as dual agents. A dual agent has a duty to be honest and truthful with both the seller and the buyer as well as to make full disclosure to both parties. As a buyer you should fully understand; however, that a dual agent is not required to disclose information such as the lowest price or terms the seller will accept. Along the same lines, a dual agent does not have a responsibility to disclose information to the seller such as the best terms and highest price you are willing to offer.

Buyer’s Agent

The third type of agent is a buyer’s agent. A buyer’s agent has a responsibility to look out for your best interests in the transaction. This type of agent can also assist in helping you to determine the advantages and disadvantages of each property that you consider while shopping for a home.

Due to the inherent conflict of interest, an agent must provide full disclosure to you regarding who they represent in the transaction. When there is only one agent in a transaction the agent is usually a dual agent. This can be dangerous territory for both sellers and buyers because it can be difficult for even highly professional agents to walk such a fine line.

Ideally, it is best to work with a buyer’s agent when looking for your next home. Keep in mind that any real estate sales agent or a broker can act as an exclusive buyer’s agent in your transaction; however, the agent won’t be able to represent you exclusively if you become interested in a home that the agent listed for sale. In that case, the relationship would revert to a dual agency relationship.

Depending on your agreement with your buyer’s agent it should be further understand that you may be responsible for paying a portion of the agent’s commission. Generally the sales commission is paid by the seller when the transaction is completed. Generally the sales commission is split 50/50 between the buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent and may be paid by the seller. That commission typically comprises approximately 6% of the sales price of the home; meaning that 3% of the final sales price would go to the buyer’s agent.

Under certain circumstances; however, you could become responsible for a portion of that fee. For example, if you are working with a buyer’s agent and the home that you wish to buy is ‘For Sale by Owner’ you may find yourself responsible for the buyer’s agent’s portion of the sales commission if the seller refuses to pay the agent’s fee.

While it is possible that you may be responsible for paying at least some of the buyer’s agent’s sales commission it is still advantageous to consider working with an exclusive buyer’s agent. The assistance a buyer’s agent can provide to you in not only finding the best house for your needs but also in getting the best terms and price can more than make up for the commission.

When looking for a buyer’s agent it is important to make sure you spend some time looking for an agent that you feel comfortable working with. After all, this is the person who will be assisting you in finding the home that hopefully you will live in for a long time. Take the time to ask around with friends, family members and business associates for referrals. Don’t overlook asking for references and be sure to follow up by speaking to former clients. Avoid signing any buyer’s agency contract that exceeds 30 days just in case you realize you need to make a change in agents.

A home purchase is a major investment that most consumers will spend a number of years paying toward. As such, you deserve to get the best price and terms possible for your dream home.

Andrew owns a website that provides assist in various aspect of home buying process. You can visit his website at: http://www.buy-and-sell-house-fast.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Webber
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