The Nose Knows

If you plan on getting the most from the sale of your home you better be sure it can pass the "sniff" test. Let's face it your home should smell good.

When it comes to selling the house, it means that there should be no noticeable odors. Make careful attempts to get rid of pet odors, cooking smells and cigarette smoke.

Smell makes an enormous impact on people when they enter a home. While smokers and pet owners may not even notice the smells in their home - having become quite accustomed to them - they may be an overwhelming turn-off for potential buyers.

Have a non-smoking, non-pet owning friend come over to perform a sniff test.

Of all the impacts that your home can have on your buyer, cigarette smoke is the very last one you'd want.

This doesn't just mean the smell - which, is quite offensive to potential buyers - but the look of ash trays (even clean ones) and smoke stains on walls, cupboards, and otherwise.

This is also true for burn holes in carpeting and upholstery. Sure, you're not selling your furniture, but the furniture that is there will leave an overall impression, so make certain that they don't show signs of smoker's damage.

For the majority of buyers, they won't even want to tour a home if it is currently owned by a smoker. With that in mind, make sure to get rid of any "evidence" of your habit.

Store all of your ash trays out of sight; clean all of the walls, ceilings, and other places that have smoke stains, and replace or cover any fabrics, carpets, or upholsteries that have burn holes.

If you must smoke, do so outside, and make sure that you're not smoking in front of an open window that will simply let the smoke back in.

This article provided by the publishers of "45 Tips To Sell For More, FASTER!" A free copy is available at: http://45Tips.com

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More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.