Seller Tips: Get the Most Resale Value Out of Your Bathroom

According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2013 Cost vs. Value Report, the average bathroom remodel (costing around $15,000) recoups 65.2 percent of the cost when the house is sold. For Warner Robins GA sellers with older homes, this can make a big difference in the caliber of buyers that your home attracts.

What Features Do Buyers Want?

When remodeling the bathroom, make the most of the space you have, rather than wasting square footage on details like a large Japanese soaking tub or a bidet. These features may be essential to you, but most buyers don’t have the time or desire to use them. According to HGTV, Steve Straughan, an architect at KAA Design Group, a Los Angeles-based firm, advises his clients to skip adding a bathtub in favor of a larger walk-in shower if there isn’t room for both. If you have enough money in your budget, Straughan notes that floor-to-ceiling steam showers are very popular with buyers. Double sinks are also something worth adding during your bathroom remodel. LaNita Cates, a Chicago-based realtor, notes that double sinks are a major selling point in her area.

What Can I Do on a Small Budget?

If a full bathroom remodel isn’t in your budget, there is still plenty that you can do to make your bathroom more appealing to potential homebuyers. Look around for small projects that can be completed. Does the grout around the shower or floor tile look lumpy and stained? Spend a few hours next weekend and replace it. If your shower and sink fixtures look dingy even after being cleaned, replace those as well. Add a brand-new toilet seat; no one wants to use one that looks like it’s been there for decades. If your window treatments are dusty and dated, replace them with a new roller shade, which will allow in the most light when not in use.

Are the walls painted a dark color? In a recent video from AOL on Home, New York real estate expert, Barbara Corcoran, advises sellers with dark walls to repaint them white or another bright neutral to make the bathroom look light and sunny. Corcoran also recommends changing all light bulbs, as most bathrooms have bulbs with insufficient wattage.

Is It Worth Adding a Second Bath Before Selling Your Home?

If your home currently only has one bathroom, then yes, it is worth it. But even if you already have more than one bathroom, it could pay off to add another if there’s a need for it. According to a study for the National Association of Realtors, researchers found that each full bathroom in a home adds an average of 24 percent to the selling price.

Staging Tips

Once all of the updates have been completed and you’ve listed your home, take the time to carefully stage the bathrooms. The goal of doing this is to neutralize the bathroom and show potential buyers a blank slate that they can make their own. To do so, remove or pack away all personal items, such as your toothbrush, shampoo, makeup and bathrobe. Clear out the medicine cabinet, leaving only a few necessary essentials. Replace the shower curtain, rug and towels with new items in coordinating neutrals with an occasional pop of color to add interest.

As always, Warner Robins real estate information is provided as a courtesy by Anita Clark, your Warner Robins Real Estate Specialist, (478) 960-8055.

Seller Tips: Get the Most Resale Value Out of Your Bathroom

Increase Home Value and Curb Appeal With DIY Roof Repairs

Slapping a “for sale” sign on your front lawn simply isn’t enough these days to sell your home in the current housing market. Homeowners must summon extra reserves of energy to enhance their home to tip-top shape before buyers’ interests are piqued. One often overlooked section of home improvement is right above our heads. Roof repair increases real estate value, especially if the shingles are ancient or have been ravaged by severe weather. Take these steps to enhance your roof to sweeten the deal for your home’s future owner.

Roof Safety

Roofing repairs demand extra attention to safety measures to prevent falls. If you feel uncomfortable working on a ladder or your home is multiple stories, consider using a scissor lift, which can make working on your roof much simpler and safer. Ideally, all repairs should be done on a warm, dry day. Never attempt roof repair under a blazing sun or during wet or icy conditions. Wear boots or shoes with non-slip soles to reduce the risk of slipping and falling. As with any task rife with peril, bring along a partner for assistance.

Replacing Shingles

Begin with the shingle in the second row above the one to be replaced. We’ll assume your roof is topped with the most common three-tab asphalt shingles. Slip a pry bar in the gap between the two undamaged shingle rows and gingerly lift the tabs 45 to 60 degrees to avoid cracking their brittle composure. Pry out the row of exposed nails that secure the above shingle row to the damaged one. Then, slide the bar under the the next row down to remove the nails on the damaged shingle. Work loose the shingle from its adhesive attachment, and extract it from your roof. Clean the surfaces to remove any dirt or debris. Now, position the new shingle in its proper place, nail it to the roof and then re-nail the above shingle. The final step entails resealing the three shingles with a dab of shingle cement under each tab.

Cleaning Gutters

Hire your trusty scissor lift once more, and begin purging the gutter of accumulated debris at the lower end drain outlet. A small garden spade works nicely for this task. Scoop out the slurry of dirty leaves and gunk, and toss them into a bucket for easy disposal. Next, utilize the water-blasting talents of your garden hose by equipping a high-pressure nozzle. Blast the gutter’s remains in the direction of the drain outlet until each stretch of gutter is flushed clean. For further cleaning, use aluminum cleaner and steel wool to scrub down the encrusted insides. If the drainpipe isn’t releasing water, you may have a clog. Push a flexible plumber’s auger from either the top or bottom to remove the blockage.

As always, Warner Robins real estate information is provided as a courtesy by Anita Clark, your Warner Robins Real Estate Specialist, (478) 960-8055.

Seller Tips: Proven Home Staging Strategies

Selling your home these days requires much more than just a “for sale” sign. Even in low inventory markets, buyers still have options when looking for their new home. If you want your house to sell quickly and for your desired price, you need stage it correctly or you risk losing a potential buyer. You might be surprised about the little things that you need to do in order to maintain a buyers interest in your home. Agents in Idaho have talked about this on their blog at http://www.startpackingidaho.com/, it’s universally essential. Here’s some valuable tips and tricks.

Remove Clutter

The most important thing you can do when you stage your home is to remove clutter. Take everything off of the kitchen counters, pack up clothing, take books off of the bookshelves, remove children’s toys from view, and any other knick knacks that don’t add to the room’s appeal. Also, you’ll want remove furniture from rooms that is not essential. Don’t make it empty, but by having only a few ideal items, the room looks bigger and buyers can picture themselves in the home more easily.  You may want to invest in a storage unit to temporarily store these items until you move. Think of this de-cluttering as a head start on the moving process you will need to undergo eventually anyway. You will need to depersonalize your home at the same time by removing photos, collectibles, and other personal items. Buyers need to see your home and  picture themselves being owners.

Simple Fixes

The second thing you will need to do is take care of those simple fixes around the house. Take a quick run to the hardware store and get everything you need to take care of any maintenance issues with your home. You don’t need to remodel your kitchen, but things like leaky faucets and paint touch-ups need to be addressed.  You don’t want these to be found when the buyer has an inspection done and jeopardize the sale.  Also, you will need to tidy up your yard and landscaping: rake up any leaves, get rid of weeds, fix the fence, and water and trim the yard. Having a healthy lawn is something you will need to address weeks in advance, so it will provide a pleasant, all-important first impression when the buyers come. Some great examples of high quality homes with carefully manicured landscapes are in Boise, Idaho.

Clean Up

The third thing you will need to do to stage your home is deep clean every room in your house. Even a little bit of dust or dirt can turn off a potential buyer. You will need to thoroughly clean every surface in your home. Wash the walls, clean the baseboards, shampoo the carpets and clean all the appliances. Do not cut corners on this step, really take take the time to clean your home and it will definitely impress any potential buyers.

Decorate

The final step to step to staging your home is decorating. Consider displaying attractive accents such as plants, non-personal photos and artwork, area rugs or flowers. Invest in softer, lower wattage bulbs which can be more flattering in rooms compared to brighter, higher wattage bulbs. Many sellers try baking bread and putting on fancy scents, but these tried-and-true techniques will do the most for sellers.  Your top-notch realtor, Anita Clark, will be able to give you home-specific staging tips and will be able to answer any decor questions you may have. If you follow these steps and the instructions of your realtor, you will have a much greater chance to sell your home in this competitive market, not to mention the money you make on a higher sale price.

To Move, Not to Move…That’s the Question: Why Downsize?

It’s time to make a decision. You either need to downsize to a smaller place or remove the clutter and rethink your current home’s status. Ask yourself what you want the next 25 years to be like. Would you like to travel more? Do you prefer hosting large family reunions and holiday celebrations where the entire family comes home and stays with you? Do you have a lot of stuff to get rid of or are most of the items you own treasured keepsakes? If you move, will you have more financial freedom to do other things or is it necessary to find a smaller, more affordable place to call home because your budget dictates so?

Empty Nesters

The kids have all grown up and now, it’s just you and your spouse once again. It’s kind of peaceful but the amount of empty space in the house makes you feel empty inside. All the memories are comforting but it sure is harder to clean all that house in your older age. Here’s the thing, though. If you’re the mom and dad with the dining room table for 12 (without the extra leaf), you might consider staying in your current sized home and shuffle things around instead of downsizing into a smaller place.

In this case, remove clutter and make room for guests by storing away larger items you may no longer need. Take the opportunity to redesign your son’s football bedroom into a beach retreat for guests (even if your guest is still your son).

Baby On The Way

With a smaller home, comes smaller payments. This might be exactly what you need. If a baby is on the way or are living on one salary, consider a downsize. In this case, you will need to make room for the most important things in your life which will be everything baby. Toys, clothes, food…everything takes space so consider getting a self storage unit to store the items you’d like to keep for the future, like the bookshelf full of your favorite novels, until baby grows up and you can have your office back.

Becoming More Eco-Friendly

With a downsize, comes a lowered carbon footprint. You’ll use less water and gas. Your home will use less resources like lumber and products that can potentially be harmful for the environment if not recycled properly. It’s much easier to seal the windows in a smaller home and add solar energy options. So, in turn, moving into a smaller space means becoming more environmentally friendly.

If you decide to downsize, mainstreammom.com has good ideas on where to begin. Moving sure can be overwhelming. Go through least used rooms first, declutter and get rid of things you just don’t need. Consider quality over quantity. Surely you’ve done this within your closet throughout your life, now you must do it with your furnishings and knick-knacks. It’s time to let someone else enjoy the cookie jar collection and it will be fun to explore the world of small space furniture and storage.

A smaller home can bring a certain warmth and charm that a large and empty house may not. Also, smaller electric bills, less housework, an updated decor and more free time and money to do things you haven’t been able to do in a long time might become available. It’s your time again. Take advantage of it!

As always, Warner Robins real estate  information is brought to you as a courtesy by Anita Clark, your Warner Robins Real Estate Specialist.

Seller Tips: What are comparable properties and how are they determined?

While no two Warner Robins homes are exactly alike, the only way a real estate agent can accurately determine the right asking price for your home is to compare it to other homes that are similar. These homes, which are referred to as “comparables,” are typically located near to your home, share many of the same features of your home and have either been recently sold or are currently for sale. By analyzing the figures associated with these homes, your agent can better determine a reasonable asking price for your property. To help you better understand how this figure was determined, your agent will provide you with a comparable market analysis, or CMA.

Generated by a computer program from the real estate agent’s MLS, the CMA is a professional report that is created after your agent inputs certain information about your home. This information is then sorted according to a number of different criteria, including all of the following:

• Zip code or neighborhood
• Age of the home
• Total square footage of the home
• Number of bedrooms
• Number of baths

“Other information, such as a price range and sold dates within the past 3 to 6 months will also be explored when generating a CMA,” says Colorado Realtor Brian Kinkade. After inputting this information, the agent receives information about those homes that are the most similar to yours that have sold in recent months. Unfortunately, this information is not so easily accessible to the typical homeowner, as it is provided through the members-only MLS system. In order to access this information and other data, such as tax information, the real estate agent must pay a membership fee. The fee is well worth it, however, as it allows the agent to obtain unbiased empirical evidence regarding those market conditions that are related to your home.

Obviously, there are some limitations to a CMA report. After all, it is possible for two homes in the same neighborhood to sell at a very different price per square foot. The data provided by the MLA does little-to-nothing to help explain these discrepancies. Furthermore, there are certain home features that are not easily quantified by a CMA. Still, a committed real estate agent can look through the listings included in the report in order to search for clues as to why a home sold above or below the market average.

The condition of the home, its drive-up appeal and the level of motivation of the seller and/or buyer, for example, all have an impact on the selling price. For these reasons and more, the homes with the highest and lowest selling prices may be disregarded when determining a list price. Ultimately, you should remember that comparable homes are often your competition and buyers will purchase those homes they consider to offer the best value. Therefore, you should be sure to set your price carefully to ensure the best results possible.

About The Author – Ray Nemec is a Realtor and writer at therealtyjournal.com.

Seller Tips: What are comparable properties and how are they determined?

Seller Tips: Get Your Home Sold with this Simple Seller Checklist

Selling your Warner Robins home can be an overwhelming and confusing experience. After all, if you have never sold a home before, you may not know what to expect from the process. Furthermore, you may be stressed out about how much you can actually get from the house and you may be unsure how to go about prepping your home to ensure it gets sold quickly and for as much as possible. By keeping a few things in mind, however, you can simplify the process and significantly increase your chances of getting your home sold quickly and at a reasonable price.

Decide if Now is the Right Time

Before you start the process of selling your home, you will first need to decide whether or not now is the right time to sell your home. Obviously, if you have a new job or if you otherwise have no choice in the matter, you may need to sell regardless of the timing. If you do not have an urgent need to move, on the other hand, you should take some time to examine your market in order to determine if now is the best time to sell your home. You may find that you will significantly increase your chances of selling your home at a greater price if you simply wait a few months or years before putting it on the market.

Hire an Agent

If you are sure now is the right time to sell your home, the next step is to hire an agent. Ideally, you should hire someone who has experience selling homes in your area. This way, you can be sure the agent has a solid understanding of your local market and will be able to share the unique features and characteristics of your neighborhood with potential buyers.

Set the Right Price

With the help of your real estate agent, you will be able to determine the best price for your home. Resist the temptation to set a price that is higher than the home’s value. While this may seem like a logical step because it provides you with room for negotiation, an overpriced home will sit on the market for much longer. As a result, it is more likely to go stale, which will ultimately force you to lower the price.

Make Renovations and Repairs

Unless you plan to sell your home as a “handyman’s special,” you should take care of any necessary repairs and renovations before you actually put the home on the market. “Looking at your home with a critical eye can be difficult,” says Realtor Josh Anderson*, so ask your real estate agent to help you identify the areas that need to be improved upon. Investing just a few hundred or thousand dollars into the home now can go a long way toward expediting the process and improving the overall value of your home.

Stage the Home

Finally, you will further increase your chances of selling your home quickly if you take the time to stage it. Staging your home involves creating an atmosphere that invites the potential buyer to imagine him or herself living in the home. This is most readily accomplished by engaging the five senses and adding the little touches that turn a house into a home. Be sure to talk with your real estate agent to learn more about staging strategies for your home.

About the author: Josh Anderson specializes in Belle Meade TN and other Nashville area homes.

Seller Tips: Smart Staging Equals A Quickly Sold Home

Selling your home in today’s economy may not be as simple as it used to be, but with an experienced Warner Robins Realtor® and with a good, solid plan to prepare your home to put on the market, you can be in your new home in no time.

Whether you need to sell because of a job transfer, military reassignment, wanting to downsize or you’ve outgrown your current home, the goal to preparing your home is to appeal to many buyers without investing a huge amount of money.

Give the Illusion of Space
The first step to properly prepare, or stage your home, is to remove the clutter and unnecessary accessories. It will be far easier for buyers to see the beauty of your home without having to navigate through oversized furniture, kid’s toys or an abundance of knick knacks. To help give the illusion of an open and spacious area, only leave what you absolutely need and take out anything extra; place the remaining furniture so it will not impede the flow of traffic.

The staged kitchen above is a wonderful example of a de-cluttered room. The counters are clear with the exception of a bouquet of flowers, coffeemaker, and two pieces of ceramic. I can certainly picture my own belongings in this room, can’t you?

Utilize Offsite Storage
If it’s within your budget, one great option to clear the clutter and unnecessary furniture is to rent a storage unit. For military families, many storage retailers offer discounts for active duty. Count on buyers checking every nook and cranny of your home including closets, cupboards, storage areas and garages. Simply moving all that clutter off-site will guarantee that every corner of your home will be neat and organized.

Remodel Where It Counts
If you do need some remodeling done to update your home, kitchen and bathroom remodels tend to bring more resale value. For bathroom remodels in Virginia , simple improvements need not break the bank. A well planned bathroom remodel to update your fixtures or flooring can really draw attention to your bathroom and buyers will appreciate the fresh, new modernized room. As you can see in the accompanying photo, this simple updated powder room will catch the attention of any prospective buyer. It looks clean and modernized.

Paint Can Bring A Fresh Look
Now that you have your momentum going, with the end in sight, you will want to make your rooms appear brighter and cleaner with a fresh coat of neutral paint. This always helps buyers imagine their own furnishings in the home and view it as a benefit of not having to repaint immediately.

Whether you are a seasoned military family, have a job that requires you to relocate often or this is your first move, staging your home can make all the difference between selling quickly or having it sit on the market month after month. Remember to look through the eyes of a potential buyer and keeping things neutral and impersonal.

Provided as a courtey by Case Remodeling in Williamsburg.