Tag: Kewanee homes for sale

How To Lower Your Taxes With Upgrades

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When you prepare your 2013 taxes, you can use your recent home improvements to get energy-efficiency tax credits. In addition to helping you lower your energy bills, energy-efficient products eligible for the new federal tax credits actually lower the amount of federal income taxes that you pay.

Eligible home improvements

Exterior windows including skylights and storm windows

Insulation, exterior doors and roofs

Central air, heat pumps, furnaces, hot water boilers, water heaters, advanced main air circulating fans or biomass stoves

How to claim your credit

Your tax preparer can help determine your credit. There is a cap of $500 for fiscal years 2006-2013 combined. You will need to keep receipts to provide proof of purchase and have a copy of the manufacturer’s certification for the product you purchased. If you file taxes on your own, you will need to file IRS Form 5695 with your taxes.

 

How to lower your taxes with upgrades.
How to lower your taxes with upgrades.

Mel Foster Co. Announces New Residential Website

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Mel Foster Co. launched a new website at www.melfosterco.com that gives users more search options and promotes the communities that Mel Foster Co. serves.  Over 90% of buyers search for a home online and the newly developed website offers buyers additional tools to streamline their search and easily pinpoint a desired neighborhood.

Demonstrating its commitment to innovation, Mel Foster Co. is utilizing the latest technology available in the real estate Industry. Potential buyers visiting melfosterco.com have access to a wealth of search tools to find their next home, including Market Watch, a report that shows current prices, listings and trends in any geographic area.  Market Watch is a useful tool for those relocating to the Quad Cities and those buying or selling locally who want a snapshot of homes for sale, average list price and new listings within the last 30 days. By merging property, school and community information with statistics, including price changes and time on the market, this new online tool displays an interactive map for the user to customize their geographic area. This map feature is simple and easy to navigate and includes a large amount of data specific to a selected address or neighborhood. In other markets where this technology is utilized, users have shown much higher rates of interactivity and satisfaction when researching their local real estate market, leading to a better buying and selling experience.

Mel Foster Co. continues to offer agent specific websites that inherit the core functionality available on the main company site. Agents can leverage the web tools to assist clients and potential buyers while promoting their professional experiences and unique real estate sales capabilities. The company site, melfosterco.com, is mobile friendly, as are the agent specific websites.

Mel Foster Co. selected Reliance Network, one of the largest suppliers of enterprise-level real estate sites in the country, to program the website and bring the advanced features buyers and sellers expect from a robust website to the Quad City market.

Tips For A Smooth Move

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Mel Foster Co.’s relocation specialists have helped thousands of families relocate to the Quad Cities. Our award-winning staff offers a variety of relocation and real estate services. There is so much to think about and do when planning a move and we can help!

Once you’ve found a home in your new community and set a closing date, contact a mover. Your Mel Foster relocation specialist can help you find moving companies. It’s never too soon to start sorting through your closets and storage areas and determining what you need to keep, donate or throw away.

As you pack up your photos, take a look at your furniture and decide if you need to sell pieces or purchase additional items for your new home. Measure your furniture and consider if it will fit into the floor plan at your new home.

Start a moving paperwork file and find new providers in your community or transfer your records. Be sure to find a new bank, doctor, dentist and vet. Research clubs or civic organizations in your new town and contact the local church to let them know you’re relocating.

About a month prior to your move, check these items off your list:

  • Change your address with the post office and IRS.
  • Forward magazines and newspapers to your new address.
  • Contact utility companies in both your old and new location.
  • Make travel arrangements.
  • Contact your insurance agent in both your old and new location.

With a little planning and help from Mel Foster Co.’s relocation specialists, your next move can be an exciting adventure!

Wanted: Your Home

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Now is an ideal time to list your home for sale because there are many buyers, but not enough homes for sale. This means you can get a higher selling price now that the market is in the seller’s favor.

Interest rates are still low which encourages homeowners to move. More competition is always good for sellers who may be in a position to review multiple offers. Sometimes a bidding war can break out, driving the final sales price up higher than the listing price.

According to James D. Shilling from DePaul University’s Institute for Housing Studies, the seller’s market is driving home prices up higher. This helps homeowners with negative or low equity to make more money from a sale and eases the burden of being upside down on their home. This gives the seller a chance to enter the market as a buyer when interest rates are near record lows.

Shilling predicts rates will stay low through 2013 and most likely into 2014. But the interest rates won’t stay low forever. When rates do rise, homeowners won’t want to sell their homes and lock into a new, higher interest rate. This shift means fewer buyers and lower offer prices for your home.

It’s a sweet time to be a seller. Contact a Mel Foster Co. agent about listing your home and take advantage of the market conditions.

The Pitfalls Of For Sale By Owner

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Selling a house sounds easy. Take some pictures, get them on a for sale by owner website and watch the offers come in. The reality is, your home may sit on the market longer and you may price it below market value. These mistakes could cost you thousands of dollars.

Get an agent on your side when you decide to list your house. Agents and FSBO companies have different motivations. Your agent is working hard to sell your home for you and is only compensated once your home is sold. An FSBO website makes money when your home doesn’t sell and you pay for another month of listing.

Only your agent can help you determine a fair selling price based on comparable listings and sales in your neighborhood. This competitive market analysis can give you a realistic sales price. A home that is priced right will sell quickly in most situations. An FSBO site won’t offer specific information to determine how to price your home.

With an FSBO listing, you are responsible for scheduling and facilitating the open houses. It can be frustrating to watch potential buyers enter, then exit, your home in less than five minutes. They won’t stick around long enough to tell you honestly what’s keeping them from choosing your house. But an agent knows how to engage potential buyers in a meaningful dialogue that can reveal buyer concerns that might be keeping your home from selling.

Your agent also has the necessary paperwork for a buyer to make an offer. Selling you house is a transaction of many thousands of dollars. This is not the time to play agent and lawyer for yourself. Be smart when you list your home and use an agent.

10 Ways To Sell Your Home Fast

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You need a fast sale for the maximum profit. Do these 10 easy things to make your home move quickly.

1. Let go of your emotions and accept that your home is now a house that you want to sell quickly at a profit.

2. Pack up your family photos, knickknacks and books. You want buyers to see clean shelves and surfaces where they can imagine their items.

3. Organize your closets and cabinets. Buyers are going to snoop.

4. Remove any extra furniture that makes your home look like it’s small.

5. Scrub your house from top to bottom. This includes the outside and those areas you can’t easily reach.

6. Shampoo your carpet and area rugs. Pet odors and smoke are a turn off to potential buyers.

7. Make minor repairs. Turn every knob, open every window and cabinet. Tighten anything that’s loose, patch holes and replace any broken tiles or glass.

8. Give your catch all room a purpose. Your spare room/office/craft room/playroom needs to serve a single purpose when buyers come through.

9. Make your home look inviting from the curb. Keep landscaping in top condition. Check that curtains are even from a curbside view. Remember that a buyer can drive by at any moment.

10. Keep up with the cleaning and clutter daily. Doing a quick pick up or clean up of the house every night before bed means your house is always ready for a showing.


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