CENTURY 21 Larry Miller Realty » Selling

Most Cost-Effective Home Improvements

admin — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:01:55 +0000

Outshine the competition with key fix-up work

March 17, 2011

Imagine walking into an important job interview looking like you just dragged yourself out of bed. You’d be unlikely to make a good impression and diminish your chance of securing the job.

The same goes for selling a home. First impressions are lasting. Some buyers won’t even look at the inside of a listing that doesn’t have good curb appeal.

Today’s buyers are picky. There is no sense of urgency in the market, so buyers are holding out for the best home they can find that will work for them for years to come. In some areas, there are a lot of homes for sale. It’s important to make sure that buyers will be attracted to your home before they even walk through the front door.

Fortunately, exterior improvements needn’t be expensive. The recent Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report 2010-2011 found that the improvements that yielded the highest return on the investment when sold were a new steel front door and a new garage door.

The average cost nationally for a new front door was $1,218; the return was 102 percent. The average cost for a new garage door was $1,191; the return was 83.9 percent. The top nine of 10 most cost-effective improvements nationally were for exterior projects. Curb appeal is as important as ever, and may be more so in this market.

The Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report is a collaborative report done annually by Remodeling Magazine and the National Association of REALTORS®. It compares construction costs with resale values, which are based on estimates from more than 3,000 REALTORS® and appraisers.

Sprucing up the front yard for sale needn’t be costly. Clean out weeds and dead plants. Add flowering plants for color and mulch to tidy up areas that aren’t heavily planted. Replace a lawn that has seen better days with less lawn and a border bed of flowering shrubs.

Do in-ground planting well in advance, if possible, so that plants have a chance to get established before your home goes on the market. If you have no choice and must plant at last minute, be sure to remove the ID tags from the nursery.

A deteriorated fence should be removed, repaired or replaced. Any peeling paint on the front walk and steps and house exterior and trim should be refreshed. The side of the house that gets the most exposure needs the most maintenance. If you’ve let it go, you’ll be docked dollars by the buyers unless you repaint where needed before you sell.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: The amount returned on home improvement investments varies from one location to the next. It’s important to consult with your local real estate agent before you embark on an upgrade to make sure that you don’t overpay on an improvement that won’t generate the desired result.

Most homeowners assume they’ll get their money back and more when they sell. In fact, most upgrade investments often don’t return 100 percent of the amount invested, particularly in a down market.

A minor mid-range kitchen remodel returns 72.8 percent nationally, according to the 2010-11 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Index. In the Pacific region of the U.S., you’re likely to recoup 84.1 percent.

However, a major upscale kitchen remodel pays back only 59.7 percent nationally and 66 percent in the Pacific region. It makes sense to take on a major remodel project only if you’re staying in your home and can enjoy the use of the improvements before selling.

A deck addition ranked high on the list of popular exterior improvements. Although, nationally the cost recouped is only 72.8 percent, it may be an essential enhancement if your home has no outdoor living space and all the homes for sale in your neighborhood do.

THE CLOSING: Supply and demand in your local area will also impact how much you’ll recoup from your fix-up investments.

Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years’ experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author of “House Hunting: The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers” and “Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer’s Guide.”

Nine Ways to Enhance a Home’s Curb Appeal

admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:57:06 +0000

By Josh Garskof, Excerpted from Money Magazine

Just as every mother believes her son is a handsome devil, we homeowners tend to see the best in our houses—or at least we become comfortably familiar with the way they look.

But let’s face it, to the objective eye, not every man is George Clooney and not every house is a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece. There are a lot of drab, even downright gloomy facades out there – especially among homes built after World War II, when many builders abandoned traditional architectural styling to streamline costs and mass-produce housing.

Thankfully, the cosmetic surgery required to put a beautiful face on your home won’t hurt a bit. It doesn’t even require a big-ticket construction job. “Creating curb appeal isn’t about trying to transform the house from, say, a plain-Jane ranch into a grand Victorian,” says Charlotte, Vt. architect Ted Montgomery. “Just changing one or two little details is all it takes.”

You can find your inspiration by looking at similar houses in the neighborhood—or by hiring an architect to offer suggestions ($300 to $500) and maybe sketch a plan (add $300 to $500). You’ll boost your home pride, endear yourself to the neighbors and generate a lot more interest from buyers someday when your house goes on the market.

Subtract flaws

Assuming the house and yard are already well maintained, job one is to get rid of unsightly blemishes left by a penny-pinching builder or the misguided remodeling efforts of previous owners.

Replace the garage doors. The most prominent facial feature of many homes is a pair of big garage doors – which all too often are flat, lackluster slabs of steel or vinyl. Trade them for more visually appealing doors with moldings, windows or an old-fashioned carriage-house look ($2,000 to $5,000 a door, including labor). See designerdoors.com and clopaydoor.com for examples.

Remove siding. Sometimes ugliness is only skin-deep. “Peek under dreary aluminum, vinyl or asbestos siding and you may find well-preserved wood clapboards hiding underneath,” says Asheville, N.C. architect Jane Mathews. If so, remove the siding, repair the old wood and give the house an attractive paint job ($10,000 to $20,000). If not, you could paint the siding or replace it with fiber cement siding (see image), a no-maintenance product that looks like real wood ($15,000 to $25,000).

Lose the funky railings. Swap out bad porch or stoop railings – such as black iron bars and chunky pressure-treated decking components – for visually interesting banisters and spindles that are worthy of their prominent placement at the front of the house ($1,000 to $3,000).

Add character

Like a dimple or a cleft chin, the addition of an interesting architectural element can give your house some distinctiveness.

Install a salvaged door. The typical postwar front door is decidedly dull, but the entry should be the focal point of your house, says Corvallis, Ore. architect Lori Stephens. For interesting replacements, troll an architectural salvage yard (the directory at buildingreuse.org can help you locate one). Consider a recycled mission-style oak door, a six-panel colonial with blown-glass windows, or arch-top French doors ($200 to $800; more if you’re converting to an arch top).

Add moldings. Many newer homes lack exterior trim; the siding just butts up against the windows and doors. A contractor can give the house a more sophisticated, traditional look by cutting back that siding and slipping in wide, flat moldings around the openings and possibly at the corners of the house and between its stories ($3,000 to $4,000). Consider using a synthetic product like cellular PVC for your moldings, which looks like wood but will never rot.

Enhance the roof. A straight, un-adorned roofline makes a house look about as interesting as a shipping container. So consider adding one or more windowed dormers (gabled peaks) or extending the eaves (the roof overhang) a few feet beyond the front of the house with detailed moldings on the under-side ($2,500 to $6,000 per dormer or eave extension). This is major surgery though; do not attempt it without first getting an architect’s input.

Multiply the effect

Invasive procedures aren’t always necessary. Just adding the right accents can transform your home’s outer look—not unlike a pair of stylish new specs or a good haircut.

Replace light fixtures and hardware. Lose generic shiny brass or black house numbers, mailbox and porch lights (especially bare-bulb fixtures) and substitute something unique and substantial, perhaps made of antiqued copper, bronze or brushed nickel ($20 to $75 each).

Plan for a nonstop flower show. Most of the flowers in your yard probably bloom in the late spring, which makes for a beautiful May – or whenever the big show happens in your climate – but leaves you with a bland yard for the other 10 or 11 months of the year. A local nursery can help you choose and plant additional bulbs, shrubs and trees with different bloom times (as well as plants with colorful autumn foliage and winter berries), so there’ll always be something performing in the yard ($50 to $250 a shrub, $500 to $1,500 a tree).

Add color. A paint job ($2,000 to $10,000) in pleasing hues can make any structure appealing. “But don’t choose a bright, high-contrast color scheme – that only exaggerates a house’s flaws,” Montgomery warns.

For subtler suggestions, check out the book “House Colors” by Susan Hershman ($23 at Amazon.com) or go for the colors of nature – muted greens, deep reds or pale yellows – and keep the body and trim close in color. That will give your home a friendly, peaceful look rather than making it say, “Hey, look at me.” Sort of like an average-looking guy choosing a simple charcoal suit instead of a flashy powder blue one that only a Hollywood star could pull off.

We Make It Easy for Buyers to Find Your Home Online

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:26:36 +0000

When you list your home a with CENTURY 21 Larry Miller Realty Agent, you’re creating maximum exposure for your property, in your area and around the nation. Not only will your property be featured on the C21LarryMiller.com site and the award-winning century21.com site, but millions of other potential buyers will be able to see your listing because CENTURY 21 partners with some of the most popular real estate sites on the Internet. When it comes to selling your home, you can’t have too much exposure. CENTURY 21 works hard to ensure that your unique listing gets all the attention it deserves—all around the country!

According to NAR, eighty-seven percent of homebuyers start their search online. That’s why CENTURY 21 lists your home on over 300 popular Web sites, which get millions of unique visitors every month. Here are just a few of the national sites, where you will find your home: realtor.com, homes.com, openhouse.com, homefinder.com, and trulia.com.

What are some of your favorite Real Estate Sites? We will make sure that our listings make it to all of your favorites, if they are not already there!

Selling Your Home

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:41:37 +0000

A new promotion that requires you to relocate, a new baby on the way, perhaps you are downsizing or you are now in the position financially to purchase or build your dream home, whatever the reason for deciding to sell, the following tips should be useful to you during the process.

Make the commitment. This is often the single biggest financial transaction you will be involved in during your lifetime. This transaction requires total commitment by all parties involved to help ease or eliminate stress during the process. Hiring a dedicated, Real Estate Professional is key to helping you with all the guidelines during the selling process.
Hire the best. In order to hire the best you will need to interview those real estate agents you are considering. Successful companies and agents leave secrets to their success. The best companies and agents will have clear, defined marketing strategies that can be custom fitted to your home selling needs; they have been successful and in place long before you even considered selling your home. The best companies and agents will be readily accessible to their customers, knowledgeable on local market trends and continuously seeking the training and education that will insure a smooth, stress-free transaction that will last long after closing. Ask about those qualifications when interviewing agents to sell your home. Take your time. Choosing the best agent and company prior to listing your home will save time and money.
Sell the best. In a market with so many homes to choose from in any specific price range, size and location, your goal should be to offer the best possible home to prospective buyers possible. Stage your home so it presents itself in the best light to each and every prospective buyer. Grab a can of paint and do some touching up, clean the carpets and deodorize to eliminate pet and/or tobacco smells. Make the deal attractive. Buyers not making offers? Make them an offer. Offer concessions, offer to pay buyer closing costs, buy down their mortgage rate, offer a reduced price for quicker closing if they agree to purchase “as is” or if they agree to some other contingency of importance to you. To be the best, you need to beat the best. Ask your agent to take you on a tour of other homes similar to yours that are currently on the market. Afterward compare the plus’ and minuses and implement the changes needed to make your home the best home on the market.

A Real Estate Agent With Innovative Marketing and Advertising Ideas is Vital When Selling Your Home

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:41:05 +0000

CENTURY 21 Larry Miller Realty agents are set apart from the rest because of their marketing experience, knowledge and innovation.

Here are some tips on what to look for when hiring a listing agent.

Tip 1: Look for Creativity in Your Agent

CENTURY 21 Larry Miller Realty agents, often work with a photography expert – since the Internet is where the majority of homebuyers begin their property search, good quality photos are important. If you need to sell your home fast, find out what solutions your agent suggests. Agents that think outside the box are sometimes able to create the most creative solutions for sellers in order to facilitate a simpler, faster closing.

Tip 2: Innovative Online Marketing Ideas

Will your home be online when the perfect buyer starts to look for a home? The Internet is so important to real estate these days, it makes sense that video, which is incredibly popular online, is now becoming an even more powerful tool for sharing real estate information. Youtube.com is the largest social media site online today. Social Media is also important to the Real Estate Industry today. Is your agent promoting their listings on Facebook or Twitter?

Selling a home can be stressful and requires focus and hard work. Every seller needs assistance from a real estate agent they trust to listen, create successful strategies and execute a clear marketing plan. So remember to choose your listing agent wisely.