Getting Ready to Sell Your Property

We all have had the experience of someone important coming to the house and whether the visitor is an in-law, an old friend, or business associate you know the drill: Have the house in "show" condition.

For investors the situation is much the same: First impressions count!!!! Even though you may not be able to tell a book by its cover, you'll probably pay more for a book if the cover is inviting, and attractive.

If you have a home is for sale or soon to be for sale, in addition to a general cleaning here are some steps you can take to benefit from that all-important first look:

1. Start with the outside. Mow the law, prune bushes, remove dead branches and get rid of outdoor furniture you don't intend to move.

2. Paint the front door and window frames, or at least clean them up.

3. Check for leaks. A drip may not seem important, but does it suggest poor maintenance in those places that maybe the buyer can't see? Eliminate buyer worries and fix the little items which may be seen as clues relating to the general condition and upkeep of the house.

4. Clean out closets and storage areas. Paint them off-white inside to make them seem roomier.

5. Have a professional cleaning company clean the carpets. I would suggest this only if you are not replacing the carpets.

6. Caulk around tubs and sinks. New caulk invariably looks better than old caulk, and you'll also prevent leaks.

7. Replace bulbs that don't work and use as much wattage as is appropriate for each fixture, usually I use 100watt bulbs everywhere. Bright lights make homes seem, well??.Brighter!

8. If there are outdated tiles in kitchen and bath areas make sure and paint them with an appropriate color?here are some of the colors I would recommend?.high gloss white. It will amaze you the change this simple fix can have on a sixties type of bathroom.

9. Replace some old bathroom fixtures with a bar light above the mirror or medicine cabinet.

10. People have allergies and if there are sign of a pet make sure to get rid of them before showing the home, eg: pet doors.

11. Homes in a given location and price range battle for a common pool of buyers. Make sure that you do the things that will set your house apart from the rest. A key factor in this is offering some assistance with financing whether in a second mortgage or offering your mortgage to be assumed.

Good luck and Happy Investing

Steele Tolman teaches people how to successfully invest in real estate through the "Zero Down In Canada Real Estate Investing Home Study Course," web mentoring and seminars. http://www.motivagroup.com

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.