Home Sellers: What About Your Pets?

         

   Home sellers are advised to create the illusion that everything is new and fresh in their homes, but when pets are involved, it’s not always easy to keep things clean and orderly.

            The simplest solution for a pet owner who is selling a home is to relocate the pet to a friend’s or family member’s home or to pet daycare while the home is on the market. Keeping a pet in the backyard, the garage or in another room that you keep locked is insufficient, and is certainly not fair to the pet.

            When a pet is in a home that buyers are coming to view, it could often scare away the people from even stepping foot into the house. Many people are worried about dogs or freaked out by birds, and then allergies can also come into play if cats or other animals are inside.

            Owners may think of their pets as the gentlest creatures, but when strangers come into the home to look around, who knows what the animals are thinking? A dog that barks or jumps on people is never a good thing.

            If pets are left in the home, make sure to put them in a carrier and attach a note warning buyers not to disturb them. The last thing you want is somebody sticking their hand inside and getting bit or scratched.  

            Removing signs that you have a pet is simply smart practice. Make sure you clean the litter box daily and keep them out of sight. Also, keep all food and water dishes somewhere out of the way, or put them away after the pet eats.

            Considering hiring professionals to remove all pet stains on the carpet as buyers will spot them and form unfavorable opinions about the rest of the home.

            Finally, although a sleeping cat on the bed may make for a cute picture, someone seeing the shot on a website looking for a home may automatically bypass the house because they immediately picture cat smells and claw marks on the rug.

            Pet owners must understand that not everyone loves animals as much as they do and that to many, pets are considered smelly, noisy and damaging to a property. Don’t let a pet be the reason you don’t sell your home.

Say it with Pictures

        

They say a picture paints a thousand words and when it comes to selling your home, you want those words to end with “sold.” It’s no secret that better-presented homes get more traffic and more buyer interest, therefore selling faster.

            That’s why it is essential that you showcase your home through images in the best way possible.

            According to the National Association of REALTORS^®, nearly 90% of all homebuyers begin shopping for homes online. Many flip through photos of the homes and send a list of those they want to see to their agent. In fact, homes with few or no photos are often passed over simply for that reason, even if the home’s description matches a buyer’s ideal listing.

            Many agents believe that apart from staging, no other marketing investment is as important as professional photography in marketing a property effectively. So, to generate more buyer interest, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of professional real estate photographers in the past few years.

            The best photographs are most likely to come from someone who has an eye for the underlying beauty of the home’s structure and spaces; has specialized equipment and techniques for lighting and perspective control; and uses workflow processes for post-processing of the images for use on the Web and in publications.

            Let’s face it, as much as we all like to think we take great photos, a professional has an eye for seeing the best vantage points and lighting options and also has better equipment to make the photos bright, clear and sharp. A professional photographer will most likely use a 10mm lens that can capture up to 85% of a room and lighting that can illuminate the entire room.

            The same holds true with taking video of your home to add to a website listing. An amateur can show what each room and yard looks like, but a video professional will make the strongest elements stand out and provide a much better video narrative of the home. Plus, you don’t have to worry about any shakiness or dullness that someone not that experienced with a video camera may give you.

            Before bringing in someone to photograph or video your home, it’s essential that it is clean and de-cluttered so the pictures entice a buyer to want to see the home in person. You don’t want clothes, pets or anything else distracting people from the photo at hand.

            Indeed, homes showcased with the best photographs and videos will attract more sellers and help speed the home-sale process to a successful conclusion.

VA Loans Are Opening Homeownership Doors for More Veterans

          

  Past and current military personnel looking for financing in today’s more stringent mortgage environment can take advantage of the VA loan program, which has been available for more than six decades to help members of the military own their own homes.

            The program, established in 1944 as part of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, is available for any individual who has served in active duty in any branch of the U.S. military for a minimum of 90 days.

            “The beauty of this loan is that it allows financing without requiring a down payment,” said Eric Kandell, founder of lowvarates.com. “It also doesn’t allow the mortgage lender to charge the veteran private mortgage insurance.”

            A VA loan does require the borrower to pay a one-time funding fee on their purchase, which can be paid up front or financed into the total cost of the loan. The funding fee for regular military members is 2.15% of the loan. Reservists pay a fee of 2.40%.

            Non-active duty personnel, such as individuals in the Army Reserves or National Guard, may apply for a VA-backed mortgage provided they have completed six years of service. Spouses of deceased or missing military members are also eligible if they have not remarried. Those who were dishonorably discharged from any military branch are not eligible.

            “I’ve closed more VA loans in the past two years than in the past decade,” said Steve Thorne, area manager for First Financial Services, Inc. in Raleigh, N.C. “It really is a great benefit to the veteran in the ‘New Mortgage World.’ The key to getting more veterans to take advantage of this benefit is simply an awareness of the benefit.”

            Statistics provided by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs show that roughly 25 million people are eligible  for a VA loan yet only 10-15 percent of those have taken advantage of it when buying or refinancing.

            One reason is that for many years leading up to the mortgage crisis, there were many conventional mortgage products that were easier or more economical to the veteran than the VA loan.  

            “In the wild, wild west of mortgage lending from the early 2000s to 2008, 100% financing was common,” Thorne said. “So why pay the VA funding fee just to have 100 percent financing? Not to mention the VA control of the appraisal process, understanding residual income and all the additional disclosures. It was just a more cumbersome process then the ‘come on down, everybody gets a loan’ of the conventional arena.”

            Many veterans, especially those not so recently discharged, aren’t sure of VA loan benefits or that the program even exists. With the VA loan the veteran can buy a home with little to no money out of pocket. 

            “In the past, veterans were told about other financing on the market and people were more inclined out of ignorance to use non-VA loan financing,” Kandell said. “[The VA loan] is a great loan and you are going to see a massive shift in numbers going forward.”

            Talk to a mortgage representative for more on VA financing.

Setting the Stage for a Home Sale

       

     “You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.”

            This saying strikes a chord in the real estate industry, where many buyers are quick to jump to a conclusion about a potential home after just one glance. That’s why an increasing number of homeowners are employing professional home stagers to prepare their homes for sale.

            “Much of what staging accomplishes happens on a subconscious level,” said Carla Grammatica, a consultant with Stage Setters in New York’s Westchester County. “You are trying to create a positive association between your house and the prospective buyer. Anyone can change a paint color after they move in, but first impressions are difficult to undo.”

            With 91% of buyers searching first on the Internet for homes, MLS photos and virtual tours are extremely important in the selection process. Staging, as a priority instead of as a last resort, will give sellers key advantages.

            Stagers help eliminate clutter, give advice on adding colors, help in rearranging furniture and bring in various items to help spruce up a home.

            “One of the most important things is getting rid of things that look messy,” Grammatica said. “Life can get messy, especially with kids and storage issues, but you have to pretend that’s not how you live. You have to pretend your house is [always] neat and well maintained.”

            That means picking up shoes from the hallway, removing papers from tables and furniture and even taking down personal items—such as diplomas, pictures and trophies.

—that clutter the walls.

            Professional stagers take into account buyer demographics and buying psychology, and they use design elements in planning out the rooms, space and lighting.        “Some people think that staging is simply cleaning and packing up some of your things, but it is so much more than that,” said Linda Barnett, a certified staging professional with Indianapolis–based Home Matters. “Understanding traffic patterns and highlighting the positive attributes of a home while downplaying its negative features, all go into play.”

            One tip homeowners can do to stage their home themselves is to pack away unneeded items—such as seasonal clothes and old books—and put them in storage.

            It’s also important not to overwhelm potential buyers with wild colors and furniture, even if you think it makes your home “special.”

            Remember, making your home look like a model rather than lived-in can make all the difference in selling a home.

Is it Worth the Cost?

           

A stressful part of putting your home on the market is trying to figure out what to fix and upgrade to get the very best price. An experienced agent will recommend projects to consider and ones to avoid. After all, just because you put money into a renovation project doesn’t mean you will recoup the money in a sale.

         

   You may also want to consult Remodeling Magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report for a breakdown of typical returns on renovation projects large and small. The  24^th annual edition published earlier this year contains input from some of the country’s top remodeling professionals and ranked 35 remodeling projects for highest returns. 

        

    In many cases, smaller-scale renovation projects recoup more of their initial cost than larger, pricier ones, according to the report. For example, a minor $20,000 kitchen upgrade returns 72.8% of renovation costs, but a more expensive $58,000 kitchen remodel only retains 68.7% of its value on resale.

      

      Surprisingly, the report noted that exterior upgrades recoup more of their costs than interior renovations -- a trend that’s been building for the past five years. What’s the hottest exterior upgrade according to this year’s report? Replacing the front door with a steel entry door, which typically returns more than 100% of its cost.

      

      The report also lists garage doors as a wise investment, returning up to 83% of their original cost when the home sells.  Other prudent outdoor renovations include siding and window replacement, returning 80% and 72.4 %, respectively.

        

    Interior improvements retaining the most value include attic renovations and basement remodels, recouping 72.2% and 70%.

      

      “Just like an addition to the home, an unfinished space—such as the attic or basement—will instantly add value and livability to your home, as it increases the square footage and changes the way your family lives in it,” said Will Tomlinson, owner of North Carolina-based greyHouse Inc. Renovation and Remodeling. “You will be transforming a space that likely gets very little use into a fully functional area for your family to enjoy.”

       

     The report also notes that non-essential features have less resale value. Sunroom additions recoup only 48.6% of renovation costs; home office remodels, 45.8%; and backup power generators, 48.5%.

      

      Of course, homeowners’ needs and budgets dictate their choice of home-improvement projects. Still, it helps to know projects’ cost vs. return ratio when making the final decisions.