Nothing is sweeter than finding the perfect foreclose property, in the perfect area, at the perfect price. Just one such property can easily earn you a years worth of investment income. Trouble is most foreclosure investors rarely ever find their ‘dream’ foreclosure. In fact, the average foreclosure investor will struggle to find a single, decent foreclosed property. It’s not because there aren’t foreclosed properties to go round, but rather because of the sheer number of people looking to invest in foreclosed properties. To make matters worse, investors have penetrated every phase of the foreclosure process.

 

This means that many savvy investors try to get a steal on a house before the house is made available to the general public. Foreclosed homes are available in almost all areas of the country but investors have a tendency to only look for properties within their general area. Some foreclosure investors have simply forgotten that a profit made anywhere is still a profit. If you’re having trouble locating the perfect foreclosure, it could be because you simply live in an area that isn’t very well suited to foreclosures.

 

The first market you should consider outside of your own should be the next closest metropolitan area near your home. I happen to be fortunate and live only an hour away from three major metropolitan areas. Each metropolitan area near me has different demographics and different market trends. Before looking into any other area, you should always be sure to have an exit strategy in mind. When it comes to foreclosed homes, the best exit strategy is renting the property. In order to do this you need to evaluate the rental market of your chosen market.

 

If you like to travel and see new places, you might consider looking for foreclosed homes in the country’s biggest foreclosure markets. Right now, Atlanta, Houston, and Denver have the hottest foreclosure markets anywhere in the United States. In fact, Atlanta has such a high rate of foreclosures that it is frequently shown on television as an example of the recent foreclosure boom. If you happen to have an internet connection you can easily find foreclosed properties in these areas to invest in.

 

All of the research you need to do to find a foreclosed home can be done online. You can easily look at county and city records online at no cost. You can also find a realtor to use as a partner by going to realtor.com. To find out detailed information about market trends you can look at the websites of local real estate investors clubs. Every major metropolitan area has an investors club.

 

By expanding your base of operations beyond your usual boundaries you can dig up all kinds of sweet deals you may not have been able to find otherwise.

 

Nothing is sweeter than finding the perfect foreclose property, in the perfect area, at the perfect price. Just one such property can easily earn you a years worth of investment income. Trouble is most foreclosure investors rarely ever find their ‘dream’ foreclosure. In fact, the average foreclosure investor will struggle to find a single, decent foreclosed property. It’s not because there aren’t foreclosed properties to go round, but rather because of the sheer number of people looking to invest in foreclosed properties. To make matters worse, investors have penetrated every phase of the foreclosure process.

 

This means that many savvy investors try to get a steal on a house before the house is made available to the general public. Foreclosed homes are available in almost all areas of the country but investors have a tendency to only look for properties within their general area. Some foreclosure investors have simply forgotten that a profit made anywhere is still a profit. If you’re having trouble locating the perfect foreclosure, it could be because you simply live in an area that isn’t very well suited to foreclosures.

 

The first market you should consider outside of your own should be the next closest metropolitan area near your home. I happen to be fortunate and live only an hour away from three major metropolitan areas. Each metropolitan area near me has different demographics and different market trends. Before looking into any other area, you should always be sure to have an exit strategy in mind. When it comes to foreclosed homes, the best exit strategy is renting the property. In order to do this you need to evaluate the rental market of your chosen market.

 

If you like to travel and see new places, you might consider looking for foreclosed homes in the country’s biggest foreclosure markets. Right now, Atlanta, Houston, and Denver have the hottest foreclosure markets anywhere in the United States. In fact, Atlanta has such a high rate of foreclosures that it is frequently shown on television as an example of the recent foreclosure boom. If you happen to have an internet connection you can easily find foreclosed properties in these areas to invest in.

 

All of the research you need to do to find a foreclosed home can be done online. You can easily look at county and city records online at no cost. You can also find a realtor to use as a partner by going to realtor.com. To find out detailed information about market trends you can look at the websites of local real estate investors clubs. Every major metropolitan area has an investors club.

 

By expanding your base of operations beyond your usual boundaries you can dig up all kinds of sweet deals you may not have been able to find otherwise.

Downsizing Does Not Have To Be Painful.

 

Years ago, it was nothing to have four or five children in a family. Some families had even more. This meant finding the biggest house for the least amount of money. The more square footage and the more bedrooms the better. As the children grew up and moved away, the house became even larger. The only time it seemed crowded was during the holidays and even then there was plenty of room for everyone.

 

Now the house just is too big and there is so much that must be done to maintain it, the holidays are no reason to keep the lumbering giant. It is time to downsize. This can actually be a fun time in someone’s life. It gives them a time to reflect on the many memories they have from the old house. Packing can be a fun way to share some of those memories. One way to do this is to have a packing party.

 

Before you even begin, make sure you know what you are taking with you and what you are not going to need. You can do this by packing some of the things away on your own. Then you can call in the family to help. Make sure the grandchildren are included in the invitation. Let the family know this is going to be a whole day affair.

 

Start out by asking everyone to bring a box. This is where the fun can begin and a trip down memory lane can cause some great laughter. As your family arrives, explain you are going to be selling the house and you are packing up what you are not going to need. As the kids wander from room to room it is their job to explain about the stain on the living room carpet that just mysteriously appeared. They can also talk about how the unwanted house guest “No Body” kept doing things behind everyone’s back.

 

As the items are packed up and placed away, each one of the children will have their own memories as well. These can be shared with other members of the family and the new generation too. The trophies which have gathered dust can be bragged about once again. The favorite toys in the attic can be brought back to life with the grand kids in the house. 

 

Downsizing does not have to be a sad time. It can be a time when the entire family remembers what it was like growing up with each other. The dishes used at holiday dinners, or why there are only three legs on the table that are straight can really make the experience a great way to say goodbye to a family home with lots of history.

 

As each family member packs up a box, make sure there is one they are going to take home filled with the wonderful treasures they had when they were growing up. This way a part of the old house will remain with each one of them for years to come. 

Selling a home is all about making an impression on buyers. If you want to get the highest price possible for your home it’s imperative that you make a very positive impression on potential buyers. Selling a home priced above average market value is more difficult than selling an average or below average priced home. There are simply not as many buyers who can afford an upper end home. Staging has emerged as a popular means of dressing up high end homes in order to make more of an impression on buyers.

 

If done right, staging a home can dramatically shorten the length of time a home spends on the market. When staging a home you really need to think like one of your potential buyers. That is, you need to determine what prospective buyers want to see and not what you think looks good. Just because something is appealing to you doesn’t mean it will also appeal to buyers. Fortunately, most home staging companies offer expert advice included with their different home packages.

 

Curb appeal is everything and how your home looks on the outside makes a profound difference on the attitude of buyers. If you are selling a high end home, your home absolutely must look perfect on the outside. This means you need to do things like trim the hedges, pick up toys, edge the lawn, wash the driveway, and even powerspray the home itself if need be. Hiring a landscaper before you home goes on the market is really good idea and can easily be worth several times the cost.

 

Clutter is almost always a turn off to home buyers. Buyers want to be able to enter a home and see the home in its most natural state. Buyers don’t want to see your collection of photographs and memorabilia. Again, a professional home staging company can easily help you declutter your home. Different people find different colors appealing but generally neutral colors are much preferred to more bold ones. I recently looked at a home which had dark yellow carpet and orange countertops. Needless to say, I lost my interest in the home fairly quickly.

 

Neutral colors are important not only because they look pleasing but because they can also make your home look more spacious. The more neutral the colors are the more spacious your home will seem. Buyers also don’t want to have to go through the trouble of repainting a home. If your home has utilized neutral colors through out you will have a much greater chance of selling your home.

Realty Times (02/25/08) ; Zeller, Dirk

Experts say successful real estate agents engage in prospecting, which means actively locating new clients and having positive expectations about the outcomes of prospecting. Agents would be wise to show up at the office early to make calls, even if their colleagues dismiss such a practice as a waste of time and energy. Among other things, prospecting involves calls to past clients, expired listings and absentee owners. It also involves cold calls, door-to-door introductions and open houses. By taking action to identify new clients, experts say agents will be rewarded with listings and closed transactions. While other marketing activities–such as mailing promotional materials, launching a Web site or sponsoring a community sports team–are all important, they do not qualify as prospecting.

 

Thought this was interesting…

Submitted by Darlene Pearce

If you are planning on selling your home some time in the near future, you are probably very anxious about actually putting your house up for sale. There are so many things to consider when it comes to selling a home. You have to make sure that the house looks just right on the outside and inside. But if you really want your house to sell fast you have to price it just right. Price it too high and buyers will avoid your house like the plague, price it too low and you will lose your equity. Unless you have a great deal of experience buying and selling real estate, the only person who can price your home correctly is a realtor.

 

A realtor knows what the market in your area is doing and they how to determine a maximum price point. They will able to provide you with very detailed market information and can offer you their advice based on years of experience buying and selling property. Real estate agents typically want to avoid overpricing a home as much as possible because they want the home to sell quickly. The faster your home sells the faster the agent can claim their commission and move onto another property. Therefore, many real estate agents have a tendency to under price a home in order to make it move more quickly.

 

However, most realtors still have a tendency to price a home just right because they know the market so well. If a figure presented to you by a realtor seems much lower than you had anticipated it could very well because your home simply isn’t ready for the market yet. It’s possible that your home may need some serious renovations before it can attain your desired market price. Making renovations to your property can in some cases cause your property to skyrocket in value. It’s worth your time to do some research and find out what kind of desirable improvements you can make to your home.

 

Ultimately you have to balance your interests with the professional opinion of the real estate agent. You have to decide whether you will list the house now at the price specified by the realtor or keep it off the market for a little while. Keeping your home off the market for a little while and making improvements is actually a great way to increase the value of your home. Remember that realtors have a tendency to under price a home as opposed to over price a home.

 

If you want to get the maximum amount of money out of your home, you may want to consider doing some research of your own. For a small fee you can request quotes from other real estate professionals in your area. Think of it like a second opinion. Whatever you do, don’t set a price on your home until its something you are comfortable with. The last thing you want is to be plagued by regret years down the line.

Let’s face it, we all want to save money. With the increased cost of utility bills, operating a large home has become a large expenditure these days. Sometimes it is almost ridiculous the amount of money we pay every month just to heat our homes. If you stop and think about it, downsizing can save you money.

 

There are four things a house costs. The mortgage, the insurance, the taxes, and the utilities. By starting with the mortgage, you can save money just by moving to a smaller home with less of a payment. The larger home usually costs more so the mortgage will be larger. By opting to sell and buy a smaller home, you can save some money on the monthly mortgage payment. Not to mention if you have equity built up in the larger home, you can really have a great down payment on the new place. This would allow you to pay it off earlier than the larger home, saving you even more money in interest charges.

 

With the smaller home, the insurance premiums would be less. Again a savings you would be able to recognize. This can really add up over the years. The reason the premiums are lower is because it would take less money to rebuild or repair if something were to go wrong.

 

Usually the taxes are based on the appraised value of a home. They can also take into consideration the square footage and the road frontage of the yard. The taxes in some areas are astronomical. By downsizing you can save money because the taxes on the new property will be considerably less. The square footage will be lower. The appraised value will be less. Generally in a smaller home the yard is smaller too. This is not always the case, but it can be true in some areas. Either way the lower taxes will definitely be a plus for downsizing to a smaller home.

 

Downsizing can save you money with the utilities just because the home is smaller. You do need to make sure the property is weather tight. This means you will want to insulate where you need to, caulk any leaky windows, or even replace them, and make sure weather stripping is in place. The furnace or heat pump should also be checked to make sure it is operating at full efficiency. This will ensure you will save money on the fuel bills in the winter. The electrical system should be up to code and as efficient as possible. If you have fuses instead of breakers you may want to change over. When you have completely weather proofed your home you will see a marked difference in the utility bills.

 

Many people have started to downsize due to a loss of income or illness in the family. This is becoming more and more common with the economy the way it is right now. If downsizing can save you money it may be worth looking into. Sit down and calculate how much you could save over the next five years if you lived in a smaller home. The figures may surprise you.

Walk outside and take a good look at your home. Take a look at the other homes in the neighborhood. If they are all looking the same, there is a problem. Your home is not ready for showing. It lacks curb appeal. You need to get it noticed.

 

You want your house to stand out. You want people who drive by say things like, “I like that house”, or “I wouldn’t mind living there”. You need to know what will make them say that. Look at your house again and see it’s potential. Determine what would make someone say those things about your house.

 

The first thing is a nice yard. You may think a small yard is a draw back. It is not at all. You just need to know how to enhance it. You need to make it colorful. Add some bright, cheery flowers along the walkway. Put in a flower bed under the windows, or along side the house. Clear out any unwanted trees or shrubs. These things can make a small yard look even more small. You want to give your home a warm and inviting look, not one of cramped space. Make sure the lawn is mowed and edged neatly. If there are bare spots, get some grass seed and resow it into the lawn. Trim the larger trees so there is no chance of dead branches falling. You can also tell potential buyers you just had the trees trimmed. This means they do not have to do it for quite some time.

 

The next thing you need to look at is uniformity. Make sure all the windows look the same from the outside. It actually makes the house look more well kept. This can be done by installing vertical blinds, mini blinds, or even shades. If you do use shades, during the day make sure they are all at the same level during the time the house is on the market. You want everything to look uniform.

 

When you are looking at the windows, take a look at the trim work. If the windows have shutters but some are missing, either replace the missing ones or take down the existing ones. You do not want the house to appear as if it is in need of repair. Missing shutters makes it look as though no one took care of the place. The paint may be cracked and peeling. Get the scraper and a bucket of paint and redo the trim work. This will make the house look more clean and give the impression of good repair as well.

 

You may have cement sidewalks or steps. If you do and there are cracks, fix them. You can do this with a filler cement and a trowel. This is a big improvement not only to the look of the home but to the safety of all who come there. If the railing for the steps is missing or broken replace it. Certain federal funding will not go through on a house which does not have a hand rail where there is more than two steps. Again, replacing the hand rail makes the home look more complete and adds to the safety factor.

 

Of course you will want to replace any broken windows or doors. This can really damage the curb appeal when a buyer drives by and sees this. Also, if there is vinyl siding which needs repaired or replaced, you will want to do this. 

 

The key to making your house more attractive is looking at it from someone else’s eyes. If you can not do this, enlist the aid of your family and friends. They can take a look and assess what needs fixed in a hurry. Make a list and just do it. Not only are you adding more value to your home, you are attracting more buyers. When you have more buyers, you can sell your home in a lot less time. All you need is a little curb appeal.

With the advent of the Internet a whole new market has opened in the advertising world. There are virtual worlds being created every day to introduce the world of consumers to new products. Why not use this innovative way to sell your home.

 

It is possible to create a free web site with many different web hosting companies. This includes Yahoo and Bravenet. You can log on and set up an account for absolutely no charge. Both of these sites have a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) site builder. You can create a beautiful, informative web site for nothing. 

 

Using this concept, you can advertise your home to the world. Making up flyers with the web site address printed on them will allow you to send interested parties through a virtual tour of your home. You can put these flyers in a special bin under the “For Sale” sign in the front lawn. You can even put them up at the local grocery store or laundry mat. By taking video of your home and narrating it, you can show off your house as no one else could. You can point out all the unique features which made you buy the home in the first place. Then you can point out the hidden ones which made you fall in love with the place while you lived there.

 

There are sites which allow you to advertise for free, like Craig’s List, on the Internet. Many homes have been bought and sold on this virtual “classifieds” section of the web. Investors are always looking here for their next purchase. Whether you want to reach the people in your local area or the ones across the country, you can do it with Craig’s List.

 

Other sites specialize in For Sale By Owner (FSBO) properties. Some of them charge a fee while others allow you to enter your listing for free. Many of these web sites offer informational videos which explain the entire process from deciding to sell to closing the deal. You can even find contracts and other forms you may need. You can chat with other FSBO sellers to see what they are doing to market their homes. Many great ideas come from listening to others. 

 

Of course the traditional sign in the yard will let those in your neighborhood know you are selling your home. However, asking your neighbors in for a private showing can also bring in some great potential buyers. You can do it in a neat way by calling up your friends and neighbors and saying something like this. “Hi Jane, I just wanted to invite you and Bob over on Saturday. Bill and I are putting our house on the market and we thought you may know someone who might want to take a look at it. How does 1 o’clock sound?” You got their attention, went straight to the point and let them know they could bring someone to look at the house. You can explain the details later in the conversation. Things like it is only going to be for a half hour because you have someone else coming at 1:45 gets the ball rolling. If “Jane and Bob” know anyone who thought about moving into the neighborhood, this is their time to shine. Remember, people like to shine. If you do this with ten of your friends and neighbors, you just got some of the best advertising money could buy, word of mouth.

 

When you sell a home, think of it as a marketing game. You have the product, now find your market. Ask yourself who would want your house and where would you find them. This is always the best place to start when selling anything and a house is no different. There are many creative buyers. Be a creative seller.