1. Think Like a Buyer Buyers will look at your home with impersonal and calculated eyes. They won’t have an emotional attachment or your personal interests in mind when they make an offer. Regardless of weather the overall market favors the buyer or seller, the buyer will want your home at a fair market price. They are not considering how much you paid for the home, the value of the memories that you have in it, how much cash you need for to close on your next home, or how much time and money you have invested in your home’s landscaping, bathroom updates, painting or other improvements. When you first decide to sell your home, it’s no longer your home. It belongs to the buyer with the best offer for you. Emotional detachment from your home will help you see your home the way a buyer will be looking at it. Brush up on more selling advice.

2. Start with CMAs Invite a few real estate agents to work up a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) for your home. A CMA compares the price of homes recently sold, homes that were on the market but didn’t sell, and homes currently on the market to give you and your real estate agent an idea of how to price your home. Ask the agents why each particular home was included on their CMA. Have a list of questions and compare the answers you get from each agent. As you will find out, a CMA will show you varying prices for what each agent thinks your home is worth. Look for what seems to be a reasonable price. Some real estate agents will want to price your home below market value, looking for a quick sell or a bidding war. Some will overprice it looking to play on your hopes that your home is worth more than it really is, but an overpriced home will sit on the market longer and will likely need to be reduced later. Most real estate agents will provide you with a home value estimate or Comparative Marketing Analysis (CMA). It as good idea to find real estate agents who have plenty of experience pricing homes in the area, especially as the market turns to a buyer’s market.

3. Consider a Professional Appraisal A CMA will give you a good idea of the value of your home, especially if the agent is familiar with pricing homes in your neighborhood. However, for several hundred dollars that it usually costs to purchase a professional appraisal, the money could be well spent for several reasons. If the CMAs you get from real estate agents are not reasonably consistent, you might want to get an totally unbiased view point, one that you pay for. An appraisal of your home will make clear anything that may be wrong with your home and it adds an additional layer of assurance for prospective buyers. Appraisers rely on in-person inspections of your home, recent sales of like-homes in your area, and other data to arrive at their opinion of your homes’ value. The report you receive from an appraiser is more detailed than a common CMA. The appraiser’s report is a full-blown description of your home and the criteria used to formulate the valuation.

4. Research On Your Own You can research several ways. Stop by homes that are for sale in your area and pick up a flyer. Spend an hour or so on the Internet looking at homes in your zip code with the same square footage, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Finally, visit open houses around your home and make an impartial assessment of how those homes compare to your own in terms of condition, location, size, ages, and upgrades. As you visit the open houses, make an honest assessment. Given similar condition, age and square footage, would you buy your home or the home you are touring?

5. Price per Square Foot Some agents may want to price your home solely on price per square footage. While this is an industry standard way of calculating home prices, there are many other tangible aspects that go into your home’s price. The average price per square foot in your neighborhood should be the starting point for setting your home’s price.

6. Market Conditions Consider the overall housing market in your area. Are home prices moving up over time? How long do homes stay on the market before they are sold or withdrawn? Where are interest rates? Is the overall economy in your area and state strong or weak? Are employers hiring or are they overly cautious of bring on new employees? Are builders actively building new homes? Will you be entering a buyer’s market or a seller’s market.

7. Determine Your Selling Costs
There are many costs involved in selling your home. Don’t shy away from getting to the bottom line as this is essential information. Use a variety of mortgage calculators and financial calculators.

8. Flexibility and Options Both you and your buyer may have needs that go beyond the bottom-line. If you are willing to close escrow quickly, you will attract buyers who want to move in right away. A lease-option can help first-timers who need down payment assistance. If you can offer seller-financing, your home will appeal to buyers who need to stretch their financial resources. The more creative and flexible you can be in meeting the buyer’s needs, the more success you will have in pricing your home to sell. If your home has been on the market for a while, can you offer a point or two back to the buyer to help with closing costs or needed repairs.

9. Use a Discount Real Estate Broker There are many good reasons to use a good discount real estate broker. The obviously reason is that you keep more of your home’s equity, but in a buyer’s market, using a discount real estate broker gives you pricing flexibility and that gives you not only a cushion to negotiate but a distinct competitive advantage over the other homes on the market using full-commissioned brokers.

Jeff is the owner and partner of We List homes 4 Less, a full-service real estate broker in the Santa Clarita Valley. Jeff is a strong advocate of using the Internet to promote niche local business and pass the savings onto clients. Their site rates in the top 99.75% of all Websites according to Alexa, a traffic rating service owned by Amazon. Find more house selling advice and mortgage
calculators at We List Homes 4 Less.

[tags]House Selling, Realtor, Real Estate, Santa Clarita,[/tags]

Home Inspection - Use A Checklist

A good home inspection checklist, keeps you from forgetting things. I have more than a hundred items on my own list. Think you could keep all these items in mind as you walk through a property? For tht matter, did you remember to look for water stains on the basement walls the last time you looked at a house? Bring a list!

Good lists are organized by area of the house, usually starting outside. Walk around and then through the home, checking each item on the list. Take notes. If a gutter is coming loose on the side of the house, write it down, along with notes about rotting wood or anything else you notice.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the difference between 12-gauge and 14-gauge wiring. You don’t have to become an expert on all the building trades, as useful as this would be. You just have to use what you do know. Make a note if something looks “odd” or “smells funny.” Afterwards, you can have a professional inspector take a closer look.

Home Inspection As A Negotiating Tool

many buyers make an offer on a home with an inspection contingency clause. After an inspector goes in, the buyer can re-negotiate the price based on his findings, or at least know that nothing is wrong. This isn’t a bad way to go, but lowering your offer too much can often offend a seller, and blow the deal. How would you feel if somebody dropped their offer by $10,000 after they already put it in writing?

A better way is to find as many problems with the property as you can, BEFORE making the offer. A list of these problems presented with an offer is a good impersonal (therefore non-offensive) way to present a low first offer. It’s a good idea to keep the inspection contingency in the offer, but you probably won’t have to lower your offer this way.

There is no need to be a carpenter to note that a railing is loose. Most of us can see if a home needs new paint. Home inspection can start with simple things like these, and end with a better price for you.

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. For a complete home inspection checklist, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

[tags]home inspection,home inspection checklist,real estate[/tags]

Strive to create the most neutral environment possible. This will attract men and women alike. Prospective buyers will more easily visualize their own furnishings in the property if it is not cluttered with your belongings.

Remove excess furniture and instantly have a larger room! This is especially important for small spaces. If you have a sofa, love seat and chair consider removing one piece. Many rooms have just two upholstered pieces and look beautiful. The same rules apply to the bedroom. If you have access to a baby crib why not turn the smallest bedroom into a nursery? Add only a rocking chair and the space will appear enormous!

Wallpaper is typically a huge turnoff to home buyers. Everyone has different taste in decor and leaving paper on the walls will limit your buying audience. All they see is work as they will become responsible for removing it. Consider taking the paper down yourself or hire the job done. The small investment now will become a huge payoff later.

Color plays an important role in the home buying market. Stay away from bright colors when selling. That neon yellow bedroom MUST go! The hot trends today are the darker creams and taupes. A fresh coat of paint will go a long way in freshening your walls and buyers will feel your property is move-in ready!

Clear the counter tops of all small appliances but replace with living plants and a couple of strong scented candles. The benefit is twofold. The counter tops appear more spacious and the scented candles (I recommend apple pie or cookie dough) leave a nice aroma in the room.

These are general tips that apply to every home. You may want to contact a Staging professional to address your specific needs. Remember a small investment now could tremendously increase your property value!

Julie Rieman is an accomplished instructor in the arts faux painting and interior redesign. She offers two and four day classroom or online interior redesign training. If you live in the Twin Cities area, you can invite Julie into your home for a personalized consultation.

For more information about any of her decorating services and training opportunities please visit: http://www.allaboutredesign.com http://www.allaboutwalls.net

[tags]home staging, real estate, decorating tips, interior redesign, training[/tags]

Let’s get prepared to move! The first thing you should do is to decide what you should and should not move. Think about having a garage sale. Not only will you lighten the load for your move, you’ll earn a little cash at the same time!

Make sure to get estimates from several moving companies or truck rental companies, depending on how you plan to make the move. I was quite surprised during my last move to find that costs varied greatly from one company to the next.

Plan your travel itinerary and make any transportation and lodging reservations in advance. Make sure to leave a copy with friends or family.

Transfer your checking and savings accounts. Many financial institutions will be happy to open your new account by mail. This will save you a step when you arrive and have other things to deal with - like unpacking!

Request medical records from doctors and dentists, including eye glass prescriptions, dental x-rays and vaccinations.

Obtain your children’s school records to make for an easier transfer.

One step that is guaranteed to save you headaches is to draw up a floor plan of where your furniture should be placed. This will help avoid confusion for you and your movers once you arrive.

Remember to pay any existing bills and close out any local accounts.

If this move is employment-related, record expenses incurred during your house-hunting trips and any other moving expense. Some of these common expenses are tax deductible.

Moving is a stressful time for almost anyone. Use these tips to make your move a little more enjoyable. After all, you’re moving into a new house, this should be an exciting time!

Kris Kombrink has been working in his family-owned real estate business since 1995. Specializing in Geneva, St Charles and Batavia Illinois residential real estate his team stays on top of the latest trends while maintaining superior customer. Learn more about his team at http://www.kombrink.com or email kris@kombrink.com.

[tags]moving,tips,advice,real estate,movers[/tags]

When markets hit a snag, however, property purchasers will have to be more selective about what they choose to buy. One segment of the real estate industry which is often overlooked by investors and yet is possibly the most lucrative, involves the purchase and sale of small free-standing professional office buildings. In the industry, we refer to it as ‘Blue Chip Real Estate’. The definition is borrowed from the Stock Market, since Blue Chip Real Estate is the general description of interests in land that are well established, with stable earnings and no extensive liabilities - just like Blue Chip Stocks.

Small professional office buildings are typically leased to established professionals business entities such as proprietorships, partnerships, incorporated firms or any combination of the above, as well as to top tenants such as banks. They are valued by investors seeking safety and stability, though prices are usually high. Typically, Blue Chip real estate holdings are perceived to offer reliable returns, high yield and low risk. Additionally, most of them are strategically located adjacent to residential neighbourhoods, yet in commercially-zoned strips.

Small professional office buildings are sought after by a variety of professionals, especially in the medical industry, for the amenities they offer, which enhance their practice and professional images. For instance, many of these buildings are built with ancillary storage or utility space that can be used for a variety of reasons, provide rooftop or basement HVAC systems, or even nicely appointed consultation rooms in which clients and audiences will be more relaxed and potentially more receptive to presenters.

What makes small professional office buildings so particularly prized by investors is the fact that there is a shortage of them. As they offer more and better facilities, construction is typically more expensive than normal. The plus side of things is that market values of free-standing professional office buildings never fall, because there are not that many and they are always in high demand - specifically because tenants almost never leave.

In addition to generate highly reliable rental income, landlords usually take advantage of other important benefits, all of which are paid for by tenants.

Property Taxes and Utilities

Property taxes are typically higher than the norm but, as in all commercial tenancies, they are apportioned to and paid for by the individual tenants. Care must be exercised to be accurate in the measurements of common areas and passageways, so that a proper apportionment of property taxes can be made among tenants. In some instances, landlords are entitled to estimate the taxes payable for the subsequent calendar year, and to require tenants to pay the estimate in advance, provided that when the actual amount of taxes is known, tenants shall be invoiced by the Landlord.

Operating Costs

Operating Costs refer to the total of all expenses, costs and outlays of every nature incurred in the maintenance, repair, operation, insuring and management of the building all calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Operating Costs include cleaning and janitorial, all utilities in the interior and exterior of the building, security, window cleaning, insurance required to be carried by the Landlord, repairs and replacements to the building, heating, cooling, ventilation and air conditioning if provided, outdoor maintenance including landscaping and snow removal, replacement of light bulbs and fixtures, telephone and other utilities, service contracts with independent contractors, supplies, legal or management fees and disbursements, federal sales tax on rent or similar taxes such as the Goods and Services Tax (in Canada), and all other expenses paid or payable in connection with the operation of the Premises and maintenance of the building.

Insurance

In addition to be responsible for payment of the pro-rata share of the landlord’s insurance, tenants must carry their own comprehensive general public liability insurance (including bodily injury, death and property damage) on an occurrence basis, with respect to the business carried out in or from the premises and the tenant’s use and occupancy thereof. Such insurance must contain a waiver by the insurer of subrogation against the landlord or shall include the landlord as a named insured, and shall protect the landlord in respect of claims by the tenants.

Furthermore, the tenant must carry insurance in respect of fire and other such perils covering the tenant’s trade fixtures, furniture and the equipment, all leasehold improvements of the tenant and plate glass, and which insurance shall contain a waiver by the insurer of subrogation against the landlord or shall include the landlord as a named insured, and shall provide that any proceeds recoverable in the event of loss to leasehold improvements shall be payable to the landlord.

Leasehold Improvements

Unless stipulated otherwise, tenants bear all costs of alterations and improvements to the premises, and any and all such alterations and improvements, once completed, will become property of the landlord. Whereas free rent or free leasehold improvements are frequent in the leasing of average commercial, retail or industrial space, when it comes to small professional office buildings any such incentives or inducements to lease are unheard of.

The average size of this type of holdings is in the 10,000 to 15,000 square foot range, two or three stories in elevation and private, gated parking. As practically all expenses are paid for by tenants, capitalization rates are typically very high. The capitalization rate is the return an investor requires for investing in a property, so as to receive the annual flow of net operating income. Small free-standing professional office building have price tags ranging from CAD $1.5 million to CAD $2.5 million depending on the area, and cap rates as high as 20 percent per annum. Real property annual appreciation has been a steady 8 to 10 percent per annum over the past ten years. This means that a property that sells today for CAD $2 million would have sold for approximately CAD $750,000 in 1996.

Luigi Frascati

Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the footer of this Article is very much appreciated. Thank you.

[tags]blue,chip,office,buildings,professional,real,estate,holdings,medical,investments[/tags]

Here are 5 reasons why Coronado real estate may be the world’s best:

1. Perfect weather — Coronado, located just off the Southern California coast, enjoys the type of weather most people daydream about: warm sun, cool ocean breezes, just a few fluffy clouds, low-humidity, very infrequent rain, and a temperature that stays in the upper-60’s to low-70’s range all year long. As is the case in most cities on the Pacific coast, early mornings in Coronado can be chilly — but, once the fog burns off, you won’t want to go back inside until the sun goes down!

2. Beautiful beaches — Coronado’s beaches are consistently rated among the world’s best by travel guides, magazines, and television shows. In fact, the Travel Channel recently ranked Coronado’s beaches in the top-10 in the US, and number 1 in Southern California… which is saying A LOT when you consider the number of world-class beaches located between LA and San Diego. It’s no wonder that Coronado’s beach-front real estate is among the world’s most valuable!

3. Convenient Location — Coronado is located right next to one of the most vibrant and colorful cities in the world: San Diego. Often called an “island,” Coronado is actually a peninsula connected to the mainland by a strip of land called the Silver Strand. Physically, Coronado is only about a mile from downtown San Diego, giving its residents easy access to a huge variety of shopping, dining, entertainment, universities, professional sports, and all the other great benefits a major city provides. For even more fun and shopping, Baja Mexico is just a 15-minute drive to the south.

4. Small Town Atmosphere — Despite it’s close proximity to San Diego, Coronado has a truly unique and inviting “small town” atmosphere all its own. When you leave the city and cross the bridge to Coronado you really feel as though you’ve stepped into another world. You see wide tree-lined streets, elegant Victorian homes, charming Spanish-style cottages, beautifully manicured lawns, quaint, locally-owned shops and boutiques, clean air, nice, cheerful people… and many other things you won’t find much of in the city! It’s this safe, friendly atmosphere that is the real draw for many people looking for prized Coronado real estate.

5. True Romance — San Diego’s “enchanted island,” as Coronado is often called, is among the world’s most romantic locations. Whether its a picnic on the beach, a Sunday afternoon concert in the park, or an intimate dinner in the famous Hotel del Coronado, Coronado offers residents and visitors alike the perfect romantic getaway. There’s a reason why Coronado has been chosen as the number one wedding destination in America: you won’t find a more magical place in such an exquisite setting anywhere in the world!

As you can see, Coronado definitely deserves its world-class reputation. It’s a truly special place that provides the perfect setting in which to live the “good life.” Buying Coronado real estate is a can’t-go-wrong investment anyone with the means and wherewithal should consider making!

Jamie Clark is a writer and co-editor for Coronado-Real-Estate-Guide.com. To learn more about beautiful Coronado, California real estate be sure to visit: http://www.coronado-real-estate-guide.com

[tags]coronado, california, real estate, investments[/tags]