As real-estate market rebounds, homebuyers need to be nimble
Taken from The Columbus Dispatch, Business Section, April 21, 2013
Consumer 10 Report
By Kristyn Hartman
The residential real estate market is starting to rebound.
In Central Ohio the demand is up and the supply is down. According to Columbus Board of Realtors, Central Ohio home sales in the first two months of 2013 are up almost 20 % over the same period last year. However, the inventory of supply of homes for sale is the smallest since 2002.
According to Milt Lustnauer, president-elect of the Columbus Board of Realtors, “There’s not as many distressed properties as there used to be. And, two, there’s not as many new properties coming on the market as the current ones are being sold.”
All of this combines to make a very competitive race for the available houses on the market. MoneyWatch.com, a division of CBS News, offers these tips to improve your chances of being successful in securing the home you want:
- Run the numbers, know what you can and can’t afford. Start by getting a copy of your credit report.
- Save 20 % for a down payment. A sizeable down payment will make you more attractive to lenders and improve your chances of landing a favorable rate.
- Hire an agent. Seek recommendations from friends and co-workers and put a premium on integrity, experience and good connections with other agents.
- Get pre-approved for a mortgage. Securing the financing will help you refine your home search and position you to act quickly when you find the perfect house.
Overpricing just one turnoff
Taken from: The Columbus Board of Realtors
By Kenneth Harney—The Nation’s Housing
The housing market is up and it is a seller’s market. Some houses sell within days or even hours after being listed; but some remain on the market for months.
Why do some sell quickly and others don’t? What constitutes a “turnoff” house?
If you currently have your house on the market or are planning to list it soon, here are some pointers to make sure yours is not a turnoff:
- An unrealistically high asking price
- Sellers who refuse to negotiate
- Severe restrictions on when and by whom the house can be shown
- 24 hour notice before showing
- Poorly cleaned, messy house with obvious deferred maintenance
- Sellers who insist on being present or hovering nearby
- Bad smells from dogs, cats, or other pets
- Artificial scents from candles or other devices that cause the buyer to wonder what is being covered up
To make sure your house moves quickly and is not a turnoff think of your house as a product that needs marketing, not just your home. Remember to:
- Get it in shape to sell
- Price it realistically
- Be flexible and cooperative on showings and negotiations
House Watch
From The Columbus Dispatch, At Home section, May 5, 2013
A one day comparative summary from The Columbus Board of Realtors for Franklin, Delaware and other Central Ohio counties.
5/2/2013 5/3/2013
Houses on market 9,101 11,417
Average price $201,115 $203,976
Days on market 123 133
Related articles
- Columbus Area Housing is Up! (jimwillisblog.wordpress.com)
Get Organized and Clear the Clutter
The following is taken from House Trends Magazine (www.housetrends.com)
How many of these statements apply to you?
- I can locate my birth/marriage certificates and passport effortlessly.
- I can find my 2000 tax return in less than two minutes.
- Inviting company over for dinner means unearthing the dining room table and performing careful excavation of months of paperwork, mail, permission slips, homework, etc.
- I re-buy things I know I already have because they seem to get misplaced.
- I can park the number of cars in my garage that it was designed to hold.
- I wear only 25% of my wardrobe because 75% is hard to reach, hard to see or hardly in style anymore.
- I rent a storage unit to keep things I’m unsure I, or my family, will ever want.
- I actually use 80% of what I own at least three to four times a year.
Getting organized equals empowerment. Some studies suggest that when people feel powerless or overwhelmed a thorough cleaning helps them feel more in control. Being unorganized costs money and causes stress. Clearing the clutter and keeping only what we need clears our minds and relieves some of the stress.
Getting back to basics:
- Start by the door to the room and move clockwise around the room picking up items and putting them away. This gives you a method of how to proceed through the space.
- In a kitchen or office it is especially helpful to focus on flat surfaces like the floor and countertops first and clear only the clutter you can see before opening any drawers and closets.
- Use a central location such as a bed or table and lay out all items that need sorting. This clears the mess from a room giving fast results and a sense of accomplishment that can be motivating.
- Set a timer and see how much you can get accomplished within a certain amount of time. Do not let this go on for too long and become overwhelmed.
- A place for everything and everything in its place. When an item has a home there is no reason to put it anywhere else.
- Store similar items together and close to the place where they are used.
- Don’t buy storage containers at the nifty storage store until you know what you need.
- Don’t confuse tidying up with organizing—organizing requires getting rid of things.
- Don’t procrastinate—get started.
- Commit to constant de-cluttering.
