2. Make sure the home isn’t being overshadowed outside. Nothing kills curb appeal more than a home you’re selling that you can’t even see. Be sure to trim trees or bushes to ensure they aren’t blocking any windows or the exterior of the home.

3. Remove wallpaper. Wallpaper and borders can be a nuisance to remove so you might want to take these personal decor touches down before you list the home. Neutralize the homes in subtle colors that will appeal to the most buyers and allow buyers to better visualize their personal decor moving in.

4. Don’t keep an empty home empty. Buyers can struggle in picturing themselves moving in if a home is left empty. Vacant homes can feel cold and rooms can look smaller than they really are. That’s why O’Ryan reminds us why builders spend thousands of dollars staging model homes. If your listing is vacant, consider staging it to bring in furniture and accessories to help define the various rooms functions.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR Magazine

A small stain on the carpet? Forget it. Distracting paint colors? They can’t look past it. No granite countertops? Onto the next house!

As home values drop, offering buyers some of the best bargains in years, more home buyers have realized they can get more choosy when home-shopping. And with inventories high in many areas, sellers realize their home needs to exude perfection if its going to stand out.

During the housing boom a few years ago, buyers were more willing to overlook flaws, or accept them, that is. They may have negotiated with the seller over repairs or upgrades, but some buyers were willing to even take the home “as-is” to win a bidding war or to get the home in the area they wanted.

Times have changed.

Even first-time buyers, who once were lured to the “starter home” (a.k.a. a fixer-upper), are getting choosier. A Coldwell Banker survey earlier this year found that 87 percent of first-time buyers say they want a “move-in” ready home over a fixer-upper–and they want it to be affordable too!

Buyers are “missing out on some excellent, older lived-in houses,” Holly Kirby Weatherwax, a real estate professional in Reston, Va., told the Toledo Blade. “It’s a shame, simply because they can’t overlook” flaws that wouldn’t have bothered most buyers in the previous two decades. Those flaws could be anything from minor imperfections like kitchen appliances by different manufacturers to the home’s color not matching the buyer’s furniture, Kirby notes.

“Anything that can be a distraction, you want to eliminate,” a Tennessee home seller noted in a recent news article. “A light bulb isn’t a big issue, but it can affect [buyers’] subconscious.”

So how did buyers get so picky anyway? Is it just the power of a buyer’s market? Some also blame the rising popularity of home design shows on TV for making buyers more selective when viewing homes. But in recent months, more home design TV programming is showing a slight shift to fixer-upper housing make-overs, showing how a home’s flaws can be overcome to still become a dream home. Will such TV shows eventually make more buyers give less-than-perfect homes a second chance?

Until then, before the for-sale sign goes up, more sellers are heeding the advice of their real estate agent to clean, paint, upgrade and stage to avoid lowball offers. Plus, with the huge glut of low-priced foreclosures, such finishing touches may help home owners rise above the competition.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

Read the full article by clicking the link below:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-10-best-places-to-live-in-the-us-2011-08-02

With all else being equal, home buyers prefer the look of an uncluttered home over one that is stuffed with “stuff.”  Why is this?  Uncluttered homes tend to look cleaner than ones where there are piles of books, boxes, and other items lying around.  A highly cluttered home also gives the perception of having less square footage than it really does.  And when potential buyers see open floor areas and unbroken wall space inside your home, they can more easily envision their furniture and other belongings fitting into that space.

But how can you move all that stuff out of sight without marching it down to the basement or jamming it all into your closets?  After all, prospective buyers will walk through those areas of the house also.

Consider renting temporary storage space.  Self-storage facilities offer a convenient way to relocate items that can clutter up a home.  These facilities, commonly called “mini-storage,” are fairly numerous in most towns and offer spaces with different storage volumes.  These units can be rented on a monthly basis and may be just the solution you are looking for.  All you need is a truck and some helpers to move the clutter out of the house ahead of that open house this weekend.

An even more convenient temporary storage solution for the home seller is a portable storage unit.  These enclosed containers are delivered to your home and securely protect your belongings from the outside elements.  They are especially handy when you are moving from one home to another.  The units can be loaded up at your old home and transported to your new house where they can be unloaded at your convenience.

Whether your house is located in Grandville, Ada, or any other Grand Rapids neighborhood, making your home stand out from all the others in this real estate market is an important component in getting it sold faster.  Decluttering your home by utilizing temporary storage may make the difference between going through yet another open house and finally hanging that SOLD sign in what will soon become your old front yard.

Brian Sinnott is with Zippy Shell of West Michigan, a trusted provider of temporary self-storage in Grand Rapids

Buying up in a down market is actually advantageous because while you might get less for the home you're selling, you're also getting the larger home for less.  For instance, if you had to sell a $200,000 home for a 10% discount, you might feel that you left $20,000 on the table.  However, buying a $300,000 for the same 10% discount would put you $10,000 ahead on the sale and purchase.

The other obvious matter is that when the mortgage rates increase while you're waiting for the market to improve, it dramatically increases your cost of housing with higher payments.  The cost of housing is affected by price and mortgage rates.

To accurately evaluate your current options, you need facts and assessment tools that will provide you the information to make an informed decision. Contact me, Mark Brace, today to discuss your options. Whether buying or selling I am here to help make the process enjoyable and exciting! 

First 3 Paragraphs Taken from Pat Zaby's Blog

Via CNN Money.com talking about Grand Rapids:

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, lumberjacks took down many square miles of Michigan's hardwood forests to feed the numerous furniture makers of this city in the center of the lower peninsular. There are some furniture makers left, but they tend to use metal rather than golden oak.

There's been a gentle slope to population growth over the post-war years; the metro area gained about 5% during the past decade.That means low demand for housing and the median price of about $80,000 in early 2011 is down about 10% from the boom years. A tidy three-bedroom home can be bought for less than $90,000.

Still, gardeners need  to make judgment calls. How much water does this shrub need? Will that tree get enough sun? Is this hole deep enough? It’s easy to misjudge and make a mess out of the landscaping. Here are common garden blunders.

1. Too many changes too soon. The excitement of warm spring weather often creates a passion for yard work. But what looks like a spring weed might be a fall-blooming vine. Encourage buyers to: Live with their land for a year and observe how many hours of sunlight each part of the garden gets. Test the pH of the soil to determine if acid- or alkaline-loving plants will be happy in that particular patch of heaven.

2. Too much togetherness. Trees and shrubs that look properly spaced when you plant them will crowd each other and compete for water, sun, and nutrients in a few years. Encourage buyers to: Read spacing instructions. Give trees plenty of space—they can always fill in later. Stagger bushes and plants and create two rows, which will create more breathing room. The results will look absurdly sparse at first. But live with it. In a few years, shrubs will fill empty spaces without suffocating each other.

3. Planting without a plan. Planting new garden beds without a long-term landscape plan is like pouring a house foundation without blueprints. Encourage buyers to: Draw a simple sketch of their yard—what’s there now and what they might add later, including patios and pools. Learn about the trees and shrubs that grow best in their soil and climate. A professional landscape designer can create a starter plan for as little as $250 to $500.

Taken from Realtor Mag

Source-Rick Newman of USNews, On Tuesday December 21, 2010

Serious credit problems are happening to a lot of people these days.  Here’s a handy reference chart on waiting periods if clients have a bankruptcy, foreclosure or short sale.

Bankruptcy Chapter 7 or 11: 2 Year Waiting Period (Only 1 yr with extreme extenuating circumstances exist)

Bankruptcy Chapter 13: 1 Year Waiting Period with 12 months satisfactory payments to Trustee. Must have court permission to buy a new home.

Foreclosure: 3 Year Waiting Period

Short Sale if Borrower is Current at Time of Short Sale: No wait time if all mortgage debts are paid on time for 12 months preceding short sale.

Short Sale if Borrower is delinquent at Time of Short Sale: 3 Year waiting period from date of sale.

More from CreditCards.com:

• Money Tips from Mom and Dad

• Car Dealer Secrets You Should Know

• Weak Back-to-School Spending a Bad Omen

Question: I'm planning to buy a house in about six months, so I'd really like my credit score to be in the 800s by then. I already pay my bills on time. How can I make my credit score off-the-charts great?

The good news is that 750 is more than "pretty good." Many lenders say they offer their best rates to customers with scores of about 720 or better.

However, in today's credit market, it's better to have a higher score than is absolutely necessary. And most of the tactics you'll use to raise your score make good financial sense anyway. I think working to improve your credit score from good to great is a very worthy goal!

Credit scores are no longer any mystery. They're based on how you pay, what you owe, how long you've been paying and other factors. Here's what affects the widely used FICO credit scoring model and by how much:

Making all your payments on time accounts for 35 percent of your FICO score. You're doing great on that. However, even having a 100 percent perfect payment history would leave 65 percent of your score to be determined by other factors.

Thirty percent of your FICO score is calculated from debt levels in proportion to the amount of credit you have available. Even if you never go over your credit limits or miss a payment, if you're constantly almost bumping against your credit limit, you're at a higher risk of default -- from a creditor's perspective.

Fifteen percent of your score -- a significant amount -- is based on length of credit history. There's no way to change this number quickly, which is why it's impossible for younger people to have perfect credit scores.

Ten percent of your credit score is based on any recent applications for credit. The more recent the applications, the lower your score. The credit scoring model's reasoning is that people who are running short of cash often start looking for more sources of credit.

The last 10 percent of your score is based on your credit mix. That's your history of carrying various types of credit; for instance, a car or home loan in addition to credit cards.

When you know what affects your score, you can concentrate on the changes that will have the biggest impact. Here's how you can have a higher score in just six months:

Month 1: Get a copy of your free credit report. Then, correct any errors you find on your report. Start this process now -- not all mistakes are fixed on the first try.

Month 2: Improve debt levels by paying down credit card balances. Your balances at any time during the month should be no more than 30 percent of your available credit. If necessary, apply now for one additional credit card or request higher limits on your existing cards. New applications temporarily ding your score, but it should recover before you need your home loan. (Don't open a slew of new cards, and by all means, don't spend that new available credit!)

Month 3: If your credit report only shows credit cards, improve your credit mix by asking other creditors to report your information to the bureaus. According to myFICO.com, creditors such as student loan lenders, credit unions and local retailers are not required to report credit information, but it never hurts to ask.

Do not buy a car or anything else just to improve your credit mix score. It doesn't help your score enough to be worth the money you spend.

Revive any old accounts you haven't used in awhile so they will be reported and improve your length of credit history score. One transaction every six months is enough to keep an account active.

Month 4: Set up automatic payments. Even one late payment can hurt a decent credit score. Depending on your normal checking account balance, set up an automatic payment just large enough to keep you from ever making a late payment, or create multiple payments to keep your card balance close to zero throughout the month. When your bill comes, pay what's left.

Month 5: To make sure your credit card balances are reported as low to the credit bureaus before you go loan shopping, start using mainly cash as much as possible now. You can also go online and check your credit card balances before the credit card statement period ends and pay it off early to keep from having your balance reported at its highest point.

Month 6: Do all your rate shopping for a mortgage loan within a short period of time so you don't get dinged for multiple credit inquiries.

Good luck and enjoy your new home!

Click on this link to learn more about Grand Rapids "Get the Lead Out!" Program:

http://www.healthyhomescoalition.org/get-the-lead-out/gtlo-for-homeowners/

At times the sellers themselves thwart the efforts of the Real Estate Agent. Nothing can be quite as frustrating as trying to pull all the weight when someone else is adding to the burden by being uncooperative!

If you have a seller who is not making sure their home is presentable to a potential buyer, remind them that, in a competitive market with more inventory than we've seen in some time, presentation is everything! By eliminating points the potential buyer may find fault with and bringing out the positive amenities, they are more likely to sell the home and get the price they are asking for. Here are just a few tips that will help them support your efforts as their representative in the transaction:

Let There Be Light. Buy some 100-watt bulbs to brighten the rooms, and open curtains or blinds to let light in. Unless a window faces a brick wall or some type of eyesore, open the drapes!

Garage, Not Garbage. Have a garage sale to clean out the clutter and make the garage more spacious. Your clients are moving and will need to start organizing anyway, so why wait until the last minute? Clean up oil spots in the garage or carport with a good cleanser to remove that "lived-in" appearance. The home may not be brand new, but it's new to the potential buyer.

Make Scents. Get a nice potpourri air freshener, or keep some refrigerated cookie dough on hand to throw in the oven when a prospect is coming over. Make the house smell like a home.

Paint-relief. Consider re-painting any areas that need to be touched up, especially the front door and entryway, and any appliances that are showing their age.

Power Plants. Trim down any jungles outside, especially if they cover the house. Get rid of any half-dead houseplants. Water the lawns briefly before any visit, and keep the lawns mowed and edged.

The Price is Right. Price may be a sensitive issue, but with increased inventories and declining home values in many neighborhoods, remind your clients that every shopper in a buyers' market is determined to get the best deal possible. Let them know that now is a good time to compare their house with others on the market in the same area, because the right price is the one thing that will sell their house faster than anything else.

The World is Your Stage. Professional staging can help to showcase the best side of a home, create more interest, and get your clients top dollar. With increased inventories, staging could provide the competitive edge you need.

These tips were derived from 33 Ways to Sell Your Home Fast!, an info-marketing booklet.

by The KCM Crew on November 16, 2010

It is amazing how masses of people can believe something that is absolutely untrue. The greatest example of this is that at one time the vast majority of people believed the world to be flat. Today, we want to debunk another commonly held belief – that newspapers sell houses. Somehow this notion gained believability even though the facts consistently prove it to not be true.

You ask what is a Mortgage Credit Certificate? Mortgage Credit Certificates (MCC) reduce the amount of federal income tax a homebuyer pays. The estimated annual cost savings is calculated on a monthly basis to help homebuyers qualify for a higher mortgage payment, and therefore a higher priced home-expanding home choices. MCCs are available to homebuyers who meet household income and home purchase price limits.

Calculating the Credit:

Total Mortgage Amount x Loan Interest Rate=Annual Interest

Annual Interest x MCC Rate (20%)= Tax Credit for the Year

Where Can you Get A MCC?

Many banks, credit unions and mortgage companies participate in the MCC program. A list is available on the MSHDA website : michigan.gov/mshda.

These MCCs can be combined with convential, FHA, Rural Development and VA Mortgage loans. Just because the first time homebuyer's tax credit has expired doesn't mean you shouldn't take advantage of this BUYER's market! Call Me Today!

Government-controlled mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.49 percent, down from 4.54 percent last week. That's the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.

If you're in a position to buy and have been hesitating, now is the time. Mortgage rates will eventually go up and with inflation they could sky rocket. I cannot stress enough that NOW is the time to buy.