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Selling? Click Here

Selling?
Go to:

• Doing the LITTLE Things Are Often Worth More
• Debbie's Own Home Selling Hints
• Tips on How to Hire a Contractor
• Debbie's Personal Plan to Sell Your Home
• What Debbie Would Like You to Do RIGHT NOW
• Handy Links for buyers and sellers

 

View Money Magazine's Hottest Towns.
Whether you like big cities or small towns, these

are the most desirable places to live in America.

 

Money Magazine analyzed statistics on 271 U.S. cities provided to them by OnBoard LLC, a real estate information company. These cities in that list had the highest median household incomes in the nation and above average population growth.

 

Then, combining OnBoard's statistics with MOSAIC lifestyle segmentation data provided by Applied Geographic Solutions, the researchers narrowed the list down to these 87 cities. To read more about their analysis, Go HERE.

Note:  On the page you'll visit, in the category: "Western region, under 100,000 population," the five Orange County cities of San Clemente, Laguna Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo and Tustin are listed there out of a total of 18 "best" cities nationwide.  That's a big percentage and a big PLUS for Orange County.   Hooray!---for Orange County as a great place to live!!!  Go HERE.

 

 

When You Sell Your House,
It's the Little Things That Count

From the publishers of Moneysworth Magazine...
(a great resource for financial fitness)

You'll never recoup the value of a swimming pool, finished basement, or most other major improvements when you sell your house. In fact, such additions can decrease its value. Instead concentrate on two rooms that CAN help sell a house:

...The kitchen and bathroom.

Even cheaper:

1. Paint the front entrance and put a couple of pots of geraniums by the door.
2. If rooms are even the slightest bit cluttered, remove some of the furniture.
3. No matter what you have in your closets, take at least half of it out. Remove at least half of what you have on your kitchen counter.
4. Clean the house thoroughly and keep the windows clean. Hire a cleaning service if you must.
5. Tighten any loose knobs or faucets.
6. Make sure the porch light and bell are working.

And just before the agent shows the house:

1. Close the garage door.
2. Park the kids and the pets with a neighbor.
3. Put away the kids' toys.
4. Turn on all the lights, and open all the curtains. Exception: Leave the curtains drawn if the window looks out on a wall with graffiti proclaiming, "Crips Rule."
5. If there's a smoker in the house, remove ashtrays and other evidence of tobacco.
6. Use an air freshner if the house doesn't already smell fresh. But don't bother if there's a nice cooking aroma from the kitchen.
7. Turn off appliances. It's good, however, to have very soft music playing in the background.

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Debbie's Own Hints

"Adding to Moneysworth's great suggestions, here are some tactics that
you and I can employ as a team when I am your listing agent,:"

1. Set up a bread machine and bake a loaf. That aroma, as you know, is magical. Or break open a bag of fresh-ground coffee.
2. Have some light beverages and light snacks on hand for visitors. There's nothing more warming than hot cocoa in the winter or a near-frozen iced tea in the summer for people or agents driving around and shopping for homes.
3. As best you can, keep vehicles from parking directly in front of the house.
4. Make sure the sidewalk, gutter and driveway are tidy and well cleaned for visitors.
5. Have a GIANT, thick doormat by the front door if it's messy weather outside.
6. Be sure each visitor takes home a flyer (with a good photo on it) telling all about the house --the flyer should include BOTH "sizzle" and factual specifications..
7. Whenever possible, leave the front door ajar and a note there saying, "Welcome --Walk Right In." Why make the visitors uncertain?
8. Study the home the same day a week earlier. If neighborhood noise abounds, see if the neighbors will cooperate by keeping it down for a few hours during the open house.
9. When I put up "open house" signs, I don't leave anything to chance. It's far better to take the time to put an extra direction sign on a corner than hope that people driving around will "figure it out."
10. You might specially-invite your neighbors to the open house. Their word-of-mouth to friends and relatives often leads to a quicker sale.

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Debbie says:

"This is my plan to sell your home"

Objectives:

1. To sell your home in the least amount of time with the least amount of inconvenience to you.
2. To get as many qualified buyers as possible into your home until it is sold.
3. To communicate the results of my activities weekly to you.
4. To constantly look for the best possible methods of exposing your property to the potential buyers in the market.

Plan:

1. Submit your home to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and to Homeseekers, the Internet equivalent of the MLS. By having your home listed on the Internet's number one California "homes" database, I greatly increase your ability to much sooner find a buyer.
2. Submit copies of your listing to our company sales staff for their waiting buyers.
3. Bring our company sales staff along for a special tour of your home.
4. Promote your home at the Real Estate Board meetings for maximum exposure to the other agents. Oddly, the majority of agents fail to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.
5. Develop a flyer with a photo, features and benefits of your home, for the cooperating agents to show to their potential buyers.
6. Advise you on changes you might want to make in your property to make it even more marketable at the price you seek.
7. Constantly update you as to any changes you might want to make regarding your property.
8. Add additional exposure through a professional yard sign and door key lock box thus ensuring easy access (with your permission each time) by hundreds of buyer's agents.
9. Hold open houses when practicable.

But that's not all...I also...

1. Advertise in newspapers, flyers and link at least two of my Internet web sites to the huge Homeseekers data base of homes for sale.
2. Pre-qualify prospective buyers when possible to preclude wasting time.
3. Make you completely aware of all the various methods of financing that your buyer may want to use. Besides being a licensed Real Estate broker, I am also a partner in a mortgage company. And this gives me up-to-the-minute awareness of current and upcoming changes in the loan market.
4. Inviting cooperating brokers in your area to tour your home on special Real Estate "Preview" days, thereby creating for you an ad hoc "sales force" that works daily on your behalf.
5. Provide on a monthly basis for the cooperating brokers a list of features and benefits of your home.
6. Follow-up on all salespeople who have shown your home and gain their feedback. Then, inform you of any strategic or physical changes needed.
7. Assist you in arranging interim financing, if necessary.
8. Gain your advance approval before the initial listing or any subsequent modifications of your multiple listing data.
9. Show you a copy of all advertisements that have been published.
10. Represent you, in-person, upon the presentation of all contracts by the cooperating brokers and to help in negotiating the best possible price and terms for you.
11. Diligently handle all follow-ups and keep you informed of progress, on mortgage, title, and other closing procedures after a sales contract has been accepted.
12. Promptly deliver your check at the escrow's close.

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Tips on How to Hire a Contractor

...From The League of California Homeowners

Debbie Says:

"Often, some kind of fix-up work is required by a homeowner who's preparing to sell his home. In this work, contractors are frequently involved to do renovations involving carpet, roof, drywall, wallpapering, landscaping, cabinetry, pool repair, room additions, electrical wiring, plumbing and other tasks. To protect yourself, print out these tips below and follow them to the letter when working with contractors."

Tip #1: California requires contractors to be licensed. It is important to make sure that any license presented to you is valid, and that it belongs to the person with whom you are speaking. In California, any type of contracting work which exceeds $300 in value must be performed by a licensed contractor.

Avoid scams by checking the license with the Contractors State License Board in Sacramento (their automated phone number is: 1-800-321-2752 -have the license number of the contractor handy when you call). It is important to remember that a contractor cannot loan a license to anyone for the purpose of performing work anymore than you can loan your drivers license to someone else to drive a car.

Tip #2: Make sure that the contractor has valid insurance. Your contractor should have two types of insurance in order to protect you while the work is being performed. They are: General liability insurance - Covers any accidental damage that could occur on your property during the job.

Workers compensation insurance - Covers possible work related injuries at the job site (your home!). California requires all employers, except sole operators, to have this type of insurance.

Tip #3: References: The three most important references a contractor can provide concern their current client and the two most recent clients for whom they have performed work. Here are some questions for you to consider when interviewing the references:

(a). Was the job started on time?
(b). Was the job finished on time?
(c). Were there any surprises during the job?
(d). Was the job completed for the pre-agreed upon price?
(e). Did you find it easy to get in contact with the contractor while the work was in progress?
(f). If you had this work to do over again, would you hire the same contractor?

Tip #4: Suppliers. Ask the contractor for the names of his or her primary material supplier(s) and then call upon them to inquire about the contractor in question. Ask whether the contractor pays bills promptly and whether or not the supplier would recommend the contractor to any of their customers?

Tip #5: Contracts. Remember these fundamental rules:

• Never give a contractor cash, and never provide any type of payment without a written contract.
• Never pay a contractor more than 10% of the contract as a down payment after the contract is signed. In California, the law says down payments are 10% or $1,000, whichever is less!
• Always develop a materials list. Specify the exact materials, parts, product codes, etc.
• As the work progresses, you will use a system of 'progress' payments to pay off the contract. These payments should be made at the end of each step of actual work. Example: The foundation has been poured and is set. A payment is due for the concrete and all related labor, or, the framing is completed, then pay for the lumber and the labor costs. Also, remember this, various stages of your project will require a building inspection. Example, electrical, plumbing, framing, etc., all require a sign-off by the building inspector. It is common to require that you see the sign-off by the building inspector before you make the progress payment. The inspector is an impartial third party and he or she will not signoff until the work meets approval.
• Withhold at least 10% of the contract amount to be issued as a final payment. Do not make final payment until you have reviewed the completion notice and have a lien release for each sub-contractor as well as material supplier. Also, you should have a final approval from your local building and safety department.

Tip #6: Paperwork. Keep a good file with all of your paperwork. All receipts, bills, the contract, copies of the building permit(s), etc. If it pertains to your job, no matter how insignificant you think it is, keep it!

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Debbie advises...

Right Now!!! Make a
Wish List of What You Want
(Whether it's your first home or your fifth)

How Do I Know What I Want?
Should I Make a Wish List?
What About a Reality List?

An article by Ilyce R. Glick, author of the book,
100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask*

First, let's talk about what exactly constitutes a wish list. A wish list is nothing more than a list of everything you've ever dreamed of having in your house: marble kitchen countertops, a wood-burning fireplace, three-car garage, four-person whirlpool, the best school district in your state, a five-minute walk to work, four bedrooms, a master suite with his and her closets, and vaulted ceilings. You get the picture.

The best brokers in this business will ask their first-time buyers to create a wish list detailing everything they'd love to have in a home, including:

Location
Think about where you like to shop, where your children will attend school, where you work.

Size
Think about how many bedrooms you want, the size garden, the extra room you may need for expansion, where you will do the laundry, storage space.

Amenities
Think about the garage, kitchen and bathroom appliances, swimming pool, fireplace, air-conditioning, electrical wiring, furnace, hardwood floors.

On the first pass, many of the items may seem to be in conflict with each other: You want to be close to a transportation network so it's easy to get around, and yet you want a quiet and peaceful neighborhood.

You might want to work, but when you come home, you want your home to be silent and secure. You want a wide variety of shopping, and yet you also need to be close enough to your health club to use it on a regular basis. You want to take advantage of the city, yet live in the suburbs.

Decisions, Decisions...

But that's what a wish list is all about. If you're honest about what you want, the inconsistencies and conflicts will come out. Most first-time buyers are confused by all their choices. First-time buyers take on that "kid in a candy store" quality: Many have difficulty choosing between different styles of homes. One broker says she always has a few first-time buyers each year who need to see at least one of everything in the area: a California ranch, an old Victorian, an in-town residence, and several new subdivisions. It takes a tremendous amount of time, which is wasted if the buyer decides ultimately to go with a loft. Some brokers also use a tool to help their clients define their needs as well as their wants. They call this the reality list.

Joanne, a real estate sales associate in New Jersey, says she asks her first-time buyers very specific questions about what they need to survive in their first home. "I just know their pocketbook will not allow them to have everything they want. I tell them they will begin to get what they want with their second home. Not the first."

Here are some of the questions Joanne might ask:

• How many bedrooms do you need?
• How many children do you have or are you planning to have?
• Is a garage absolutely necessary?
• Why do you need a home with a basement?
• Do you use public transportation on a daily basis?
• How close to work do you need to be?
• Does driving on a major expressway or in traffic make you crazy?

By asking specific questions about your daily lifestyle, Joanne and other brokers are able to center in on the best location and home size and amenities for your budget. They can read between the lines of your wish list.

Debbie Says, "This great article points out that:

We're A Team

And Your Input

Helps Me Help YOU"

"Wish" and "reality" lists have another use. By prioritizing the items on these lists, a good real estate agent can tell which items you might be willing to trade off. For example, if the first wish on your list is to have a four-bedroom, two-bath house, and the thirty-eighth item is a wood-burning fireplace, then the broker knows you would probably prefer a four-bedroom, two-bath house without a fireplace to a four-bedroom, one-bath house with a fireplace.

What Trade-offs Are You Willing To Make?

The bottom line is this: Unless you win the lottery, or are independently wealthy, you're probably going to have to make some trade-offs when buying your first house. (Debbie adds: "This applies to almost ANY house you will buy)

The Wish List

Brokers say the best wish list should include everything you want in a home, such as location, schools, shopping, and distance to work. If your initial list says "nice house, four bedrooms," try asking yourself these questions to stimulate your true desires:

• How often do I go to the city? Suburbs? Country? Where would I rather be?
• How long do I want to spend driving to work each day?
• Do I have frequent guests? Do I need a separate guest room?
• Will my children take a bus to school, walk, or will I have to drive them?
• How far away is my church?
• Do I want a big garden?
• Must I have a garage? Two-car? Three-car?
• How far away is the airport?
• What is my favorite form of recreation and how far away from it am I?
• Where does my family live? Where do my friends live?
• How far away do I want to be?

Lifestyle Considerations

Questions of lifestyle are crucial components of a wish list. Do you and your spouse like to stay in on Saturday nights? Or do you prefer to be close to the "action?" And will that change over the years? Are you a single woman or married with six children? Do you travel frequently? Do you own a car? Do you own, or are you contemplating purchasing, a boat in the near future? Will you want to be within fifteen minutes of the marina?

Summarize Your Desires

Once you get the information down on paper, try to organize it into a concrete sentence: "I want a four-bedroom, three-bath home with a large garden, fairly new kitchen, loads of closets, a wood-burning fireplace, two-car garage, within a fifteen-minute commute to the office and church, down the street from the high school, in such-and-such location."

That's a start. Now, prioritize the items in your wish list, and think about which items you would trade off for others.

For example, would you give up a wood-burning fireplace if it meant having a two-car garage? Could you get by with a smaller house if it means you'd be in a better school district? Would you prefer to be closer to work even though it means giving up a large garden? What if you had to live in a condo, but could walk to work?

The Reality List

Now, for your reality list. Write down everything you can't live without for the next five years. If you're a single woman, your reality list might include:

• Two bedrooms (that's really for sale purposes; it can be much easier to sell a home with two bedrooms than a home with one bedroom);
• Two bathrooms (same reasoning as above);
• Parking space or attached garage;
• Outdoor living space of some sort (could be a garden or patio);
• Second floor or higher;
• Within a twenty-minute drive to work.

Now your broker has something to work with. He or she can take your wish list and begin to match it to homes listed in your multiple-listing service. Are the wish list and reality list worth the time and effort? Brokers say yes.

These Lists Help YOU Get Clear

Even though a good broker will spend an hour or two divining the same information, writing up a wish list and a reality list will help focus YOUR mind on what YOU really want. An honest wish list is a road map to finding the house of your dreams

*Copyright 1994 by Ilyce R. Glink. Excerpted from her Random House book: 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask

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What I'd Like You to DO RIGHT NOW

• Set a Bookmark right now for this page, because after you've looked around some more on the web, you may want the help of a highly experienced Realtor®. And the "Bookmarks" or "Favorites" notation that you set now, will let you find me again fast.
• Jot my e-mail address down, just in case. It's Deb4re@Cox.net.
• Go to the buttons above and click on the red toggle called: "WHAT ARE YOUR NEEDS?"
• Fill out the blanks in the form that you find there. Click on "Submit" and that will send the form to me.
• When I get your input, I'll answer you with as many details as I can by e-mail or call you the same day. Once we communicate further, I'll set about researching the local marketplace so that if you're selling, you can quickly know the going rate for homes like yours.

If you're buying, I can immediately search for properties that match your needs and quickly report back to you my findings. Whether you're buying or selling, we can also arrange a meeting. I promise to always be on time with you and return your calls promptly.

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Handy Links For

Buyers and Sellers

What Happens After You Apply for a Mortgage

How Much Home Can You Buy?

How Much House Can I Afford?

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Is Now A Good Time To Refinance?

Real Estate Glossary and Dictionary

How Much Is Your Monthly Payment?
Explore the outcome of changes to your loan balance, mortgage term, and interest rate on your monthly payment.

Compare Buying Versus Renting

How Much House Can You Afford?
See approximately how much money a lending institution will lend you, based on your income and your debts.

What Monthly Payment Is Needed for a House with a Specific Sales Price?
Get started on exploring how changes to the desired sales price of your home will affect your payments.

How Much House Can You Afford with a Specific Monthly Payment?
Begin to understand how your desired monthly payment will affect the price of the house you can afford.

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Current Consumer Housing News

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