Real Estate Information

This post was inspired by Gary Wortol's post: Why Cleaning a Home Top to Bottom Sells a Home. Gary gives the why and I give the how!

The easiest and cheapest project anyone can do to increase selling your home is clean, bar none!  Every buyer likes a clean, well maintained, fresh smelling home! It can be the difference between an offer and moving on!

1. Use Windex Glass Cleaner on pictures, glass covered art, chandeliers with crystals, electronics, ceiling light fixtures and any glass surfaces. They will sparkle and look brand new!

2. Clean all kitchen appliances. If you have stainless steel, you can use olive oil to bring back their shine.

3. Use rolled lint tape – it will take dust off curtains, lamp shades, couches, bedspreads and throw pillows; it’s easier and more effective than vacuuming.

4. Wipe down baseboards, walls, door handles, using a mixture of Mr. Clean and water – works great and smells like lemon.

5. Bathroom – use bleach to rid your bathroom of mildew and grim. Mix with water and put into an empty spray bottle and spray entire shower, sink, tub, toilette and vanity.

6. Vacuum rugs, floors, area rugs. Make sure you get all corners and move furniture if necessary to get hard to reach places.

7. Use Swiffer Dusters with an extendable handle to get dust and cobwebs out of corners, ceilings, walls, floor and crown molding and any hard to reach places.

8. Polish wood furniture and bring back its shine and luster using lemon Pledge. In a study it was found that the most common scent people agree on is lemon – it’s the smell of clean.

9. Rent your own or hire a carpet cleaning service – not only will it clean your rugs, it will take out any odors caught in the fibers.

10. Mop up hardwood floors and make them shine. There are many products you can use found right in your grocery store.

One thing all buyers agree on is they all love a clean, great smelling home and it's the cheapest fix you can do yourself!

When it comes to a Short Sale or Foreclosure, your choices are never easy.  But, I can consult, advise and assist you in making the right choice depending upon your individual and unique circumstances.
                             
There are many programs that can help homeowners prevent a foreclosure.  If you are reading this message, you may need help now.  Being aware, prepared and proactive is absolutely necessary to resolve this unfortunate situation with the least amount of financial loss and credit damage.  Let's work together and determine what is the best option for you.  

                                                                          YOU HAVE OPTIONS

The Treasury Department has provided excellent resources to help you determine what programs you do or do not qualify for.  Based upon your eligibility, you will know exactly what steps to take.  Click here: Making Home Affordable     
                                                                    
When you need personal help, counseling or guidance, just contact me by phone or email.  Let's work together and make your bad situation the best that it can be. 

                                                                              Let ME help YOU.

Congratulations to Arthur & Carole Johnson on the sale of the Warwick Red Antique Barn. We wish you all the very best in your new home in Pennsylvania. Enjoy your retirement!

Welcome to Janis and Micki Tyrell who are taking over the business and lovely riverside cottage. As a patron of the Red Barn for many years I look forward to many further treasure hunts at the barn! 

Yet another Social Networking platform that the V Team uses is TUMBLR.

It is more common overseas than in the USA, but catching on fast here. We tend to post some off topic videos but all of our listings can also be found here too. We get a lot of feedback, so we know it's working but it's a lot of fun too.

Heres a recent video we enjoyed and shared with our followers..

Want your own Tumblr? Contact Vanessa and she'll help you set it up. 

It is simply an FHA Insured Loan that includes construction & "take out money" all rolled into one low-interest loan with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. By them insuring a lender that you will pay the mortgage more people qualify for these loans.

This can be "purchase money with money for the renovations" and any amount of renovations.

Or

it can be a refinance loan with money for renovations & making those repairs you have been putting off for a number of years.

If the needed renovation work is about $30,000 you may qualify for the "Streamlined k" provided there are no structural issues.

The alternative program is the "Full 203k" loan program which can provide money up to the FHA Maximum loan amount for your county.

Call Vanessa for more information about buying a fixer-upper with a Renovation Loan

Ever wondered where people are moving to? As a Realtor that works with many corporations and investors it's important to understand the "Migration" patterns and demographics of home owners in order to ensure that we are marketing our listings correctly. Recently Jon Brunner of Forbes, with the help of IBM, created an interactive map of the USA. It provides traffic pattern information instantly, together with demographics that up until recently would have taken days to collate. 

For example, you can instantly see from the Rockland map above, that more people are moving out than into the county. It's also easy to understand from the demographics statistics,  that those leaving are mostly retirees heading to the warmer climate of the southern states. Inbound movement is seeing  most are coming from upstate NY and Long Island, with California and Florida sending a good amount too. Those from Florida are mostly returning to their former properties in Rockland, and those from California represent some major corporate moves.

Click on the map to see where people are moving from other States. I hope you enjoy the information contained as much as I do.

No one likes wasting money, especially in these tough economic times. So it certainly makes sense -- dollars and cents -- to make a small investment of time and supplies to close up those heat-wasting air leaks around your home. It'll pay back big dividends in reduced energy bills and a warmer, more comfortable house this winter. So let's look at some of the areas where those drafts may be lurking, and see how to take care of them.

1. Doors and windows: This should be an obvious one. If you can see gaps between your siding and your windows or exterior doors, close them up with a bead of clear or paintable acrylic latex caulk. Larger gaps can be filled with foam backer rod before applying the caulking.

2. Exterior penetrations: Some of these areas are going to be obvious, while some may take a little bit of searching. Some examples of exterior penetrations where air can leak into the house include exterior faucets, dryer vents, exterior electrical outlets, exterior light fixtures, holes that have been drilled for phone and TV cables, conduit penetrations, exit points for plumbing drains, and penetrations for air conditioning lines. Closing these penetrations may require a variety of different techniques, including caulk, expanding spray foam, or, in the case of electrical boxes and fixtures, specific gaskets that are designed to fit the boxes.

3. Exhaust-vent covers: Dryer vents, range hood vents, bath fan vents, and other interior ventilation equipment typically terminate outside the house in a plastic or metal cover that has one or more louvers on it. The louvers are designed to be in the closed position whenever the fan is not in use, so that outside air doesn't leak in. Check all of these louvers to be sure they're closing completely, with no air leaks. If they aren't, you can adjust the spring tension to hold them closed more tightly; add foam weatherstripping tape for a more air-tight seal; or replace the entire vent cap with a new one.

4. Gaps around interior vents and recessed lights: Inside your home, heated air can be leaking out around that same ventilation equipment, where vent pipes pass through the walls or ceiling, or where vent covers meet wall and ceiling surfaces. Recessed light fixtures can also be real air-leakers. Around the vent pipes and recessed light cans, seal any gaps with caulking. For the vent covers and recessed light covers, remove the covers, then adjust the springs and/or add foam weatherstripping tape to create a tight seal between the cover and the ceiling.

5. Heat-duct penetrations: Gaps around heating-duct cans where they pass through the floor or wall allow cold air to enter from the crawl space, while gaps around ceiling-duct cans allow heated air to escape into the attic. To close those drafts, first remove the register, then use a combination of caulking and/or metallic duct sealant tape to close any gaps between the sheet metal cans and the floor, wall or ceiling surface.

6. Fireplaces and woodstoves: Lots of gaps can occur around these appliances. With a conventional fireplace, keep the damper closed except when burning a fire to prevent heated air from escaping up the chimney. Consider investing in a set of air-tight doors, which close off the air leaks and also make your fires more efficient. Look for gaps around woodstove and gas fireplace flue pipes, and air leaks around masonry chimneys. Use a metal collar if necessary around flue pipe penetrations, and seal gaps with heat-resistant sealant specially formulated for this application.

7. Attic and crawl space hatches: These can be real air losers if they're not weather stripped, so take care of that with some foam tape. Make sure the hatches are insulated as well.

8. Interior doors to unheated spaces: If you have any interior doors that lead to unheated spaces, including basements, garages or attics, be sure the doors are weather stripped to prevent air leakage. If possible, replace older, hollow-core doors with solid-core or, better yet, insulated metal doors.

9. Sill plates and penetrations: This one's not as easy to deal with, but it's well worth the effort to try to do whatever you can with it. Air can leak both into and out of the house through gaps where the sill plate meets the foundation or the siding, and around plumbing and wiring penetrations drilled through wall plates in various areas. If you have a gap between your siding and the bottom of your exterior wall, especially in older homes where the use of sill sealers was not a common practice, consider closing up this big air gap with a bead of caulking or expanding foam. In the basement, crawl space and attic, if you can access any of the pipes and wires that pass through the wall plates, seal the penetrations with expanding foam.

Have you noticed that homes are getting smaller? The average size of an American single family home (SFR) has been shrinking for a number of years according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The current average size of an SFR is 2,400 sq ft, down somewhat in the past five years from 2,521 sq ft. The NAHB also predicts that size to drop further over the next 3 years to around 2,150 sq ft.

So what gives? 

Reflecting living patterns, the need for formal living and dining rooms is dwindling, people prefer a less formal atmosphere combining the kitchen, living and dining room into a “great room.”

It’s predicted that homes exceeding four bedrooms and three bathrooms are also going out of fashion, as are sun rooms, media rooms, butler’s pantries and three season porches and most likely three car garages.

Looking forward…

What we will see more of is energy-saving technology. Features such as low-E windows, energy-efficient appliances and LED lighting will be installed with green features including dual-flush, low-flow toilets, engineered wood products and whole house Energy-Star homes becoming the norm rather than exception by 2015. These homes will include argon windows, solar photovoltaic and geo-thermal systems with above-code insulation and tank-less water heaters.

Affordability is driving these changes. The construction of living space that provides better amenities, a greener lifestyle with lower running costs is the way to a better future.

For information on the current availability of properties providing some, or all of the features mentioned in this article, please contact Vanessa Saunders.

If you are thinking that finally the bottom is drawing nigh, and the time might be right to jump into a bargain basement property to fix up and live in or perhaps as an investment before interest rates start creeping up again. Maybe it's a bank owned (REO) property, or even a run down short sale that's looking like it might be a good deal, but you need more funds to fix it up. Consider applying for a Renovation Loan.

A 203k (Renovation) loan is simply a FHA loan with a twist. An ordinary FHA loan referred to as a 203(b) in the the mortgage industry. Adding renovation or improvement costs to the loan you get a 203k!

Through this loan program, renovations are completed after closing of Escrow by using a portion of the loan proceeds to cover improvement costs.

Funds are held in a managed account with the mortgage company, earning you interest during the renovation period. "Draw requests" throughout stages of renovation release funds to your contractor's as the work progresses.

The FHA 203k loan is a HUD approved FHA home loan. The difference is, 203k includes money for home repair and remodeling. The 203k loan may allow you to have the home you always wanted. This is a terrific loan program, and not too complicated. But if it still sounds too complicated, contact me and I'll put you in touch with a Renovation Loan specialist in your area. I also can put you in touch with several excellent contractors that will work with this type of loan.

Info@wesellny.com