Preparing a home for sale

Preparing a home for sale requires more than an average cleaning. Most sellers understand that they must keep their house neat and tidy in order to attract potential buyers, but many may be overwhelmed or sidetracked when faced with seriously removing clutter. Beyond dusting and scrubbing, a de-cluttered home shows off its spaciousness and allows potential buyers to imagine themselves living there. Here are a few proven strategies to help homeowners take control of their space.

Empty it Out

Once you have identified your clutter hot spots it's time to pull everything out of that closet, shelving unit, or drawer and sort through what you really do and do not need. Start slowly and resist the urge to go into a frenzied clean. A successful purge requires time, commitment and motivation.

The Uselessness of Potential

Sometimes the hardest things to let go of are the things we've never used. Giving up on the idea of what that thing could be is an important part of letting it go. This is true for the things we've used but may never use again. A good rule of thumb: if you haven't used it in a year then you probably don't need it.

Give it a Home

Staying organized sometimes means finding a place for something and keeping it there. Key rings, newspaper racks, bill holders, and plastic storage containers can all help calm that "where did I put it?" frantic feeling.

Get it Out

Once you have made a pile of things to be cleared out the final step is making sure it gets out of your house! A yard sale can clear out the clutter and bring in some extra cash. If putting together a sale is too much work, donate your extra goods to your favorite local charity.

Kick the Habit

Once you've cleared out the clutter, it's important to adopt habits that prevent the problem from occurring again. Establish routines to help such as sorting mail over the recycle bin, always keeping a "give away" box in your hallway, and thinking twice about whether or not you really need something before you buy it.

Echo Boomers, The Key to Real Estate Recovery

The seeds of a housing recovery have already been planted, according to a report released recently. In fact, many of them were sown starting around 1979. According to an annual state of the nation’s housing from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, once the U.S. emerges from recession, strong demographic trends will restore health to the housing market. The key is echo boomers, the 75 million Americans born between 1979 and 1995. "There will be 5 million more echo boomers than there were boomers when they first started swelling housing markets," said Eric Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center. As a result, household growth during the next 10 years should range between 12.5 million and 14.8 million, according to the report. All those new households mean demand for many new housing units. "This is a powerful, powerful underpinning of future demand," said Belsky. Source: CNN/Money
Housing confidence is up amid increasing evidence that the market is turning around. The Adversity Index from MSNBC.com and Moody’s Economy.com reported signs of a turnaround in 33 of the nation’s metro areas. While that’s less than 10 percent of all metro areas, it’s still significant, says economist Andrew Gledhill of Economy.com. "There are signs out there that builders are growing modestly more confident about their prospects,” he says. Vallejo, Calif., where housing starts are up 440 percent compared to a year ago, leads the list of improving metros. In Longview, Tex., housing starts increased 263 percent. Others metro areas at the top of the list are Lawrence, Kan.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Kokomo, Ind.; and Clarksville, Tenn. Housing prices are also increasing in 140 metro areas compared to a year ago. The greatest increase was in Elmira, N.Y., where prices were up 10 percent compared to a year ago. Source: MSNBC
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have received the green light from their regulator to refinance underwater homeowners whose loans are as high as 25% greater than the value of the home. The special refinance plan that Obama administration officials unveiled in February limited the option to loans 5% greater than the value of the home. The higher limits will allow more homeowners to strengthen their finances by taking advantage of lower rates," Federal Housing Finance Agency director James Lockhart said. Fannie Mae said it would accept delivery of the higher limits starting Sept. 1. A Freddie Mac spokesman said it would start accepting the loans "now." The GSE financing program is only available to borrowers with loans that are owned or guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie. They also have to be current on their payments. Source: National Mortgage News