Rain, rain go away.....

Yes, I know we've had a couple of nice days but now more rain is on the way. UGH! I'm ready to chase squirrels, the neighbor's cats and all the ducks in my backyard!

My mom has been showing many homes with water in the basements and is ready for this rain to quit too.

It got me to thinking though. A lot of times, water in basements can be prevented with just a few simple 'fixes'.

Start by sloping the ground away from the outside foundation (should be about one inch per foot). Extend the slope for at least ten feet. Seed it with a good lawn grass. Sodding is a common practice and prevents the washing away of newly graded areas during heavy rains. Where a large area of land slopes toward the house, surface drainage should be intercepted and rerouted some distance from the house. Dig a shallow, half-round drainage ditch or depression designed to route the water around the house. Sod the ditch or plant grass in it. If even a shallow ditch is objectionable, drainage tiles, with one or more catch basins at low spots, may be installed.

Next you can install gutters and downspout's wherever needed. Keep them free of debris. Where leaves and twigs from nearby trees may collect in a gutter, install a basket-shaped wire strainer over the downspout outlet or place screening across the length of the gutter. Repair gutters and downspout's as soon as the need appears. To prevent concentration of water at the point of discharge, use a concrete gutter or splash block to carry the water away at a slope of one inch per foot. Roof water can also be piped underground to a storm drain, dry well, or surface outlet fifteen feet or more from the house.

Trim heavy growths of shrubbery so that soil gets more sunlight and dries quicker. When digging up the plantings, remove any pieces of masonry, mortar, or other waste material buried near the house after the basement was excavated.

Windows or parts of windows below grade should be protected by metal or masonry window wells, with bottoms consisting of gravel to permit good drainage. Clear plastic bubbles are available to cover the entire window well like an awning.

Lastly, you can apply waterproofing paint the the basement walls.

Start by doing these simple things and I bet it will solve a lot problems. Here comes more rain....

Vacation and Second Homes...

My mom and dad abandoned me and went to Sedona, Arizona for a few days. I can't believe they didn't take me with them.....AGAIN! While I stayed at grandma's house I decided to research the second and vacation homes market. It was interesting what I found so I decided to share it with you.

The combined total of vacation- and investment-home sales declined with the overall market in 2007, but still accounted for 33 percent of all existing- and new-home sales, which is close to historic norms, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The market share of homes purchased for investment last year was 21 percent, down from 22 percent in 2006, while another 12 percent were vacation homes, compared with a 14 percent market share in 2006. The total share of second homes declined from 36 percent of transactions in 2006.

NAR’s annual Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey shows vacation-home sales dropped 30.6 percent to 740,000 in 2007 from a record 1.07 million in 2006, while investment-home sales fell 18.1 percent to 1.35 million last year from 1.65 million in 2006. At the same time, primary residence sales declined 10.0 percent to 4.34 million in 2007 from 4.82 million in 2006.

The median price of a vacation home was $195,000 in 2007, down 2.5 percent from $200,000 in 2006. The typical investment property cost $150,000 last year, unchanged from 2006.

Fifty-nine percent of vacation homes purchased in 2007 were detached single-family homes, 29 percent condos, 7 percent townhouses or rowhouses, and 5 percent other. In 2006, single family homes accounted for 67 percent of vacation-home sales, while condos were 21 percent. (information taken from NAR)

Maggie's Answering Your Questions...

I've been very busy lately helping my mom by answering questions from buyers and sellers. I thought I'd post what seem to be the most popular questions from buyers and sellers. If you have any questions you'd like to ask e-mail my mom at Tifani@TifaniAndCompany.com and I'll make sure they get answered!

Can you negotiate the price of a bank owned home?
Everything in real estate is negotiable. However, banks are more sophisticated about pricing than they were years ago. So those "Get a great deal on a foreclosure!" days aren't what they used to be. Lowball offers generally don't go very far.

I need to buy a house with a good resale value. How do I determine if my house will increase in value within the next five years so that we can upgrade? I can buy a smaller house in a great location or get twice as much house in a good location. Which is a wiser decision?
It's like buying stocks. How do you really know which ones will increase most in value over the next five years? As with any investment, there are risks.
The most often quoted rule is that location is the most important factor.You want to make sure that the house does not back to busy streets and is as close to the interior of the tract as possible. Avoid corners and intersections. Choose the middle of the block or a cul de sac. You'll want to be sure it has at least two bathrooms (if you are buying in an older area).
Sometimes it is just timing that works out best for you. For example, if you buy a home before a major surge in local prices.

Is there a percentage a seller will mark up the price of a home? For example, if the asking price is $114,000 is an initial offer of $95,000 too low?
Although you can always offer whatever you want, yes, $95,000 is generally too low too offer for a home priced at $114,000.
It's like buying a car. You want to dicker with the salesman a little, but there is more room to dicker on a more expensive car than if you were going in and buying the least expensive car.
Sellers usually mark up the price a little because they realize most buyers aren't going to make a full price offer (though in different markets you can get offers ABOVE the listing price). In your example above, you were offering almost 15% below the listing price. They don't mark it up that much, just a few percent.
Before you make an offer, get your Realtor to go over the comparable sales of other similar homes in the same neighborhood. That is the same data the seller looked at when he priced his house, too. Make certain allowance for whether houses are selling briskly or slowly, and make an offer based on that data.
Note: When you look at comparable sales, you don't know for sure if the seller paid closing costs for the buyer or provided some other financing incentive, so keep that in mind.

Can you negotiate when making an offer on a new home?
Making an offer on new construction is not the same as making an offer on a resale. Most of the time, the margin for profit is so small on new construction (per unit) that there is basically little or no negotiating. You can try, of course, because "everything in real estate is negotiable," but do not expect too much.

I have a family friend who is a Realtor. I like her and she is a help but she gives me one price to sell my home for and I think it is too low. So I called another agent who suggested a price more in line with my expectations. Who do I choose?
It could be that your friend is being more honest with you about the value of your home and the other Realtor gave you a higher number because he already knew you expected it. This is called "Buying a Listing". Some Realtors will tell you the price you want to hear just to get the listing. You might want to consult a couple more Realtors on the market value of your home. Most estimates should be in the same ballpark.

From the Wesner Family

From our family to yours......we hope you have a very blessed and happy Easter.

I'm Getting Older....

As I laid back today and pondered my getting up there in age (I'm seven) I realized I needed to start doing some things to keep my youthful appearance. I need to cut back on the treats, quit laying around so much and UNFORTUNATELY keep my hair looking cute by going to my stylist (groomer or whatever it's called).

This got me to thinking about offering up some advice to potential home sellers. If you're thinking of selling your home and your home is over 10 years old, you need to consider doing some updating. Updating a home will make it much more appealing to buyers. The updates don't need to be large or expensive ones either.

Start by updating all of the light & outlet plate fixtures. This is something you use everyday but don't 'see' anymore. Buyers will take notice however.

Next, check out your lighting fixtures throughout the home. If your lights haven't been updated in awhile it may be time to change them to something a bit more modern. If you don't have the money to update all of the rooms focus on the kitchen and bathrooms. Keeping these two rooms updated will add more value to your home.

Speaking of the kitchen and bathrooms, take a look at your sink faucets. Again, if these fixtures are more than 10 years old replace them with new ones. It's an inexpensive update that will appeal to buyers.

Start with these small and easy updates. They will add more appeal to the home and it's one less thing a buyer will have to do when they move in. Even if you have an older home these simple things will make it look new again!

Check Your Credit Before You Buy...

While my mom's been out listing and showing homes I've had a lot of time on my hands. I've been making a list of things for new buyers to do before deciding to purchase a home. With interest rates at historically low levels, now is the time to buy a home but it also may be a bit more difficult to get approved for a loan. However, buyer's can now check their credit rating for free prior to speaking with a bank.

Did you know that you can request a free credit report? Yes, you can get a free credit report - you heard it here! A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. There is only one online source authorized to do so. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises consumers who order their free annual credit report online to be sure to order only from the site below. Beware of other sites that may look and sound similar. It is a good idea to get a copy of your credit report and review it for accuracy. Wrong information can hurt you in many ways. Be cautious of identify theft also. That is http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ or by calling 1-877-323-8228You can also link to it from http://www.ftc.gov/.

Once you know your credit rating you can feel confident about getting pre-qualified for a loan from your bank and then be able to look for your dream home with my mom!

I'm Moving!!

Okay, so I really can't take this weather any longer. I've been house bound since November and I'm over the snow, the ice and the cold...over it! I've gotten fat and lazy and I can't take it anymore. So I've decided it's time to pack it up and hit the road.

I'd like my mom and dad to come along so I started to look at real estate markets all around the globe. After looking at different places my mom could work I realized that most countries weren't doing much better than the United States. Here's what I found...

Housing Outlook in Great Brittan Figures published yesterday by Nationwide, the second-biggest mortgage lender, showed that house prices fell by 0.5% in February, causing annual house-price growth to dip sharply to 2.7%, down from 4.2% in January. The value of the average house has fallen for four consecutive months and the latest signs indicate that the UK housing market is on the brink of a major decline.
Housing Outlook in Australia The Real Estate Institute of Australia said housing affordability was at its worst since it began keeping records 22 years ago. The average Australian family can no longer afford the average home mortgage, according to new figures that paint a devastating picture of how unaffordable housing has become in cities like Sidney and Melbourne. Some are saying that the Australia’s housing price bubble is at least 50% larger than America’s.
Housing Outlook South Africa Standard Bank said in its monthly report yesterday that the short-term outlook for residential property remained bleak. Year-on-year growth in South African residential property prices was flat for the third straight month in February and was expected to be noticeably lower in 2008 than the 8.3% percent annual growth recorded last year.
Currently the Best Housing Markets The strongest real estate market appears to be Singapore with China, India and South-East Asia also emerging as big property growth centers.

I don't really feel like moving all the way to China just to avoid this weather. Plus, it sounds like it would be tough for mom to make it in other real estate markets right now. Oh gosh...I'll guess I'll go hibernate until this weather goes away.