Tag: Mel Foster

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.

Say what?

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Feel like everybody’s speaking a different language when it comes to real estate? Get into the conversation and get comfortable understanding what’s being said. This short glossary helps buyers and sellers navigate industry terms.

Appraisal – the determination of the worth of something by a professional, in this case the market value of a property. An appraiser uses an analysis of local market data along with the characteristics of the property. Your bank or other lender may refuse to loan you money if the appraisal price is lower than the loan request.

Closing costs – the entire package of miscellaneous expenses paid by the buyer and the seller when the real estate deal closes. These costs include the brokerage commission, mortgage-related fees, escrow or attorney’s settlement charges, transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and so on. Closing costs are generally paid through escrow. Jump ahead if you’re lost after “escrow.”

Contingency – conditions that have been built in to a real estate purchase or sale agreement must be met before the sale can be completed and legally binding. For example, a buyer’s contractual right to obtain a professional home inspection before purchasing the home.

Disclosures – The seller is required to provide the buyer with certain information (disclosures). The number and types of disclosures vary by region, but they may include information about conditions affecting the value or enjoyment of the property. The seller may know of an earth-shaking construction project that is about the start around the corner, which would impact the enjoyment of the property.

Escrow – Funds, securities or other assets held by a neutral third party (an escrow company or agent) on behalf of the other two parties (in this case the buyer and the seller). The buyer will deposit the payment in an escrow account, proving to the seller that he or she will be able to uphold the other end of the deal. The escrow service will pay the funds to the seller once certain conditions pertaining to the sale have been met.

MLS – Multiple Listing Service. An MLS is an organization that collects, compiles and distributes information about homes listed for sale by its members, who are real estate brokers. All properties for sale are assigned an MLS number.

Mortgage – A loan that helps you purchase your house. You sign a contract promising to pay back the loan with interest over a certain number of years. The components of your monthly mortgage payments may be referred to as PITI:  principal (the money that goes into paying down the loan), interest (which is paid to the lender for letting you borrow the money), (property) taxes and (homeowner’s) insurance.

Shedding Light On The Situation

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That gold chandelier above the dining room table and the globe light bulbs around your bathroom mirror need to go. Breathe some new life into your home with updated lighting fixtures. Over a weekend your home can go from frumpy to fabulous.

Kitchen
Think about some funky colored or shaped pendant lights above the island or sink. Pendants give you a chance to bring some personality into your kitchen. Don’t get hung up on how many inches your light needs to be from the surface. Just eyeball it with somebody’s help and do what looks right to you.

Living Room
The track lighting that accents your fireplace can be replaced with recessed lights, angled to still cast light on your artwork or family photo. Recessed lighting bulbs are much smaller now and LEDs are efficient and long lasting.

Bathroom
Who says a chandelier only belongs in the entryway or dining room! Add some bling to your bathroom with a sparkly chandelier. Options that are glass or even plastic are less expensive than crystal options and much lighter.

Bedroom
Install a dimmer on your main overhead light to set a romantic mood or help you unwind before bedtime. A light with an adjustable level is also great in the morning so you aren’t blasted with bright light as soon as your day begins.

If you’ve never installed a light fixture, count on a friend to show you the way or read the instructions all the way through before taking down the old fixture. And always be sure to shut off the power at the electrical box before you start.

What’s hiding behind those walls?

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A well-staged house might be hiding a dirty little secret. Black mold. Fire damage. Shoddy home improvements. Pet stains below the carpet. You can’t always tell the true condition of a home just by walking through, but it’s hard to hide damage from a home inspector.

If you are buying a home, getting a home inspection is one of the single-most important “checks” you need to conduct to make sure the home is safe and secure. An inspection can be several hundred dollars, but uncovering what lies within before you own the house has several advantages.

  1. Peace of mind – you’ll know moving in the actual condition of your new home.
  2. Negotiation tool – if there are issues that need to be corrected, you can lower your offer price or ask the seller to fix the problems prior to closing.
  3. Easy out – if the inspection reveals issues that are too big or unsettling, you can opt out of buying the house.
  4. Plan for the future – the inspection may reveal minor updates that don’t pose safety issues that you may be able to address down the road.

The inspector will take several hours to fully inspect a home. You may be able to be in the home while the inspector works. If not, you should receive a detailed report that includes plumbing, electrical, mechanical and roof analyses. You inspector can usually tell you how many years you can wait before replacing a roof or major appliances or mechanicals including hot water heater and air conditioning unit. You might also be required to have a termite inspection.

Purchasing a home is one of the biggest financial investments you’ll make. Take the extra step to have an inspection and protect yourself from moving into a money pit.

Go In As A Winner

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Making an offer is a huge commitment and you need an agent on your side to come up with terms and an offer price. You might know how much house you can afford, based on your loan pre-approval, but knowing how much you should pay is a different story.

Your agent is an expert in local market conditions and has data to help you settle on a fair offer price. Reviewing comparable properties that have sold in the neighborhood is a solid tool to determine your offer price. This information is readily available to your agent.

Sellers have a reason for wanting, or needing, to sell their home. By asking the right questions during an open house, you can get a good feel for what will motivate the seller to accept your offer. Your Mel Foster Co. agent can help you prepare questions in advance to determine if price, timing or contract terms are most important to the sellers. This knowledge will give you leverage when negotiating.

Once you make the offer, it is customary to leave earnest money with the seller or seller’s agent. In a seller’s market, the buyer should put down a solid deposit to entice the seller to accept their offer. On the other hand, if it’s a buyer’s market, a larger earnest money deposit may prompt the seller to accept a lower purchase price.
Your agent is your advocate, looking out for your best interest to make sure you don’t overpay for a property or agree to terms out of fear of losing the house of your dreams. Rely on your agent to make sure you come to the table with a winning offer the sellers will accept.

Mel Foster Co. Color the Quads Sold Out

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Only six weeks after opening registration for the Color the Quads race, the 5K and Kids’ Color Dash are sold out.  Three thousand participants have registered for the 5K and 250 are expected for the Kids’ Color Dash.  Mel Foster Co. is the presenting sponsor for the events, unique races that allow runners and walkers to get blasted with bursts of color powder on the course.

The Color the Quads 5K will take place Saturday, June 1 at 4:00 p.m., Cumberland Square at 2300 Spruce Hills Drive, Bettendorf, Iowa.  Spectators are welcome to watch the races and show their support for two local charities.
The 2013 Color the Quads benefits two local organizations, the YMCA Youth Solutions and Camp Abe Lincoln and the Children’s Therapy Center of the Quad Cities.  The event brings colorful happiness to our community AND helps out local charities.
The event’s Color Explosion and Color Burst sponsors include:  Mel Foster Co., Orthopaedic Specialists, Pear Advertising, Terrostar, Vollertsen, Britt & Gorsline P.C., Valley Bank, Gomez May LLP, Radon Solutions, Hawkeye Paving, Quad City Times, TMI – Total Maintenance Inc., Build to Suit, and Russell Construction.  The after party sponsor is Tri-City Electric Co.
Become a volunteer or a sponsor at www.colorthequads.com.


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