As buyers, sellers and developers negotiate extra add-ons and amenities prior to signing a purchase agreement, many forget the basics of prepping a home before it goes on the market. Consider a few tips:

Buy new furniture. It will look great in your current setting, and even better in your new home.

Place ice cubes on top of carpet indentations. The ice helps lift the fibers back to life.

When repainting the walls, choose light, bright colors with neutral tones.

Store personal photos. Though your buyers would surely love to see the photo of your first skydiving experience, you can always recount the story at the closing.

Update child bedroom décor to match the theme of the entire home.

Set a date with your realtor to give you ideas on final touches. He/she will be your best test audience with a motivational deadline.

© Copyright 2008 PERL Mortgage, Inc.

As the peak of the home buying season approaches, some existing trends continue - and new patterns emerge. Let’s take a look at what’s hot for 2008:

Spa Bathrooms
Once serving as a necessary area designed to make use of every inch of space, bathrooms are doubling in size as home buyers create bathing havens. Free standing tubs and steam showers provide focal points accented by decorative mirrors, sconces and tiles.

Outdoor Living Space
Custom benches and planters used to bring a cutting-edge feel to patios and decks. Today, they’ve been upgraded with cut stone fireplaces, heated flooring, and kitchen areas to give your home a virtual extra square foot advantage. Decorated with artwork and interior-like finishes and fabrics, you can enjoy all of your home’s conveniences outdoors.

Concealed Appliances
Kitchen appliances, once gleaming with stainless steel (and often the focal point of the room) are now concealed behind the same wood used for cabinets. Microwaves are hidden behind sliding doors or down-played within islands. Guests feel welcome in a space that feels less utilitarian and more like an extension of the living room.

Green Living
Homes are more desirable when they have been built from sustainable and recycled materials. They use energy and water efficiently, maximize indoor air quality, and enable home owners to take an active role in planet preservation.

With the New Year now underway, it’s time to consider the advantages of selling your home during a typical “slow period” in the real estate market.

Marketing Exposure
By selling your home in the winter, you gain an advantage through a heightened amount of marketing and advertising exposure. Because you’re not swimming against the wave of new listings in the spring, your property gains more individual attention.

Less Competition
Potential buyers have fewer physical options in your neighborhood. This gives you extra leverage and selling power.

Buy-Down Benefits
During slower periods in the market,sellers typically entice buyers to make purchases with “buy-downs” instead of lowering the final purchase price. (See our Buy-Down article for more details.)

The Holiday Recovery
We all take time after the holidays to recover from our financial good will. This can translate to an overall perception within our conventional wisdom that “buyer’s don’t want to purchase a home in the winter.” Not true. People buy new homes in Chicagoland every day.

Retail Sales & Promotions
Are you thinking of repainting your home? Do you need to install a new screen door before your potential buyer arrives? The off-season is a great time to purchase paint, construction materials, and other home improvement supplies.

Winter brings more than snowtires and skiing the slopes. Call PERL Mortgage today for a free credit check, pre-approval and more shopping strategies!

© Copyright 2008 PERL Mortgage, Inc.

Appraisals can come in lower than the sales price because appraisals are based on recently recorded sales and not the most current up-to-date market value. Following are a few other factors that can challenge appraisers when assessing your property.

Unique Homes
When your home is an original design or has very tailored features, it’s often difficult for appraisers to find comparable properties in the neighborhood. Appraisers use these “comps” to give an estimated value of your home. If your apple is surrounded by oranges, you may have to work with your realtor to compile your own list of comparable homes. You may need to include homes from other neighborhoods in order to show a more accurate value.

Public Record
In a perfect world, homes would sell and quickly become public record. In a busy season, it can take up to three months for home sales to be recorded. Prior to recording, appraisers can’t use these sales as part of an assessment. This may lead to a lower-than-expected assessment of the property you are buying or selling.

Upgrades
Although adding features to your home improves its value, the return made through the sale varies. For instance, replacing windows returns 55%, while adding a bathroom gives back as much as 96%. The best investment by far is paint – just by sprucing up your walls, you can expect a 200% return on your labor and supplies.

Overestimation of value
The last few years have been great for the housing market. Interest rates are low and prices have soared. However, the market is slowing down and sellers can’t expect the same rate of appreciation. It’s best to work closely with your realtor to decide on the ideal sales price.

© 2006 PERL Mortgage Inc.

If you’re thinking about selling this spring, here are a few pointers to help you on your way.

Prepare yourself: Detach yourself emotionally from your home and start viewing it as a commodity you want to sell. Be completely candid with yourself about how your home should look when it goes on the market.

Prepare your home: Property appearance and condition play a key role; buyers pay a premium for homes that are move-in ready. Make sure to remove all clutter. Pack up unnecessary items and store them to give your buyers the best view of your home.

Determine your selling price: Price depends on various factors, including how many buyers there are in the market looking for homes like yours, how many other homes like yours are currently on the market, and the condition of your home relative to your competition.

Hire a professional: While many people like to try to sell their homes on their own, real estate agents are experts when it comes to knowing what fix-up projects will be necessary and most lucrative for your sale. Ideally, you should talk to an agent months before your anticipated sale. Walk through your home with your agent and compile a “to-do” list.

Make minor improvements: Consider a home equity line of credit to give you the extra money needed for decorating and minor home improvements. This is a great short-term flexible solution because you will only pay interest on the portion of the line you access.

Finance your major improvements: Take out a construction loan to finance a new addition or a rehab project. Unlike an equity line, you can access funds based on your home’s post-construction appraised value.

Save money: Depending on the size of your loan and the time you plan on owning your property, you may be able to save money by changing your fixed rate mortgage to a short-term adjustable. Call Perl Mortgage to see which solution is best for you.

© 2006 PERL Mortgage Inc.