First Impressions Count

Anyone who's scanned a dating site knows what gets checked out first: How's his build? How's her figure? And that's what faces today's home seller. If you want to edge out the competition — and there's plenty of that these days — you better pay attention to your appearance. • "We all make snap judgments. If a buyer's going to make a snap judgment based on your front yard, it better look great," said Starr C. Osborne, who specializes in home staging. • "If you can't get people in the door, you're not going to get them even looking at the house," said Osborne, 47, who owns Tailored Transitions in Philadelphia. • Home staging experts, hired to help sell your home's interior by creating an aura of beauty and space — along with booting your ratty furniture and peanut butter-covered kids toys — may say that it's what's on the inside that counts. But Osborne and other professionals also quickly acknowledge that there's plenty of work to be done outside.

WHOSE HOME IS IT?

Osborne details strategies in her book, Home Staging That Works: Sell Your Home in Less Time for More Money (AMACOM Publishing, on Amazon). One concept for making your house sell sounds defeatist but it works: depersonalization. A prospective buyer should see the front of your home as their home. That means ditching the "We  Doxies" welcome mat and your University of Florida "Go, Gators" flag. Cat people and Florida State alums buy homes too, you know.

GARDEN

Because of foreclosures, homes now stand empty, the lawn like a wheat field, weeds covering the driveway.

"It's important to differentiate yourself from those distressed properties," said Alice T. Chan, owner of AKC Enterprises in the San Francisco Bay area. Just like folks who let themselves go, if you let your yard go, well, "that's not sexy, there's no appeal to that whatsover," said Chan, 40. Worse, you might be sending the wrong signal to a potential buyer. "They're going to assume you've got a distressed property, so they're going to lowball you," Chan said.

She outlines her expertise as a home-selling strategist on her website, alicetchan.com.

"It's like putting together an outfit," Chan said. "You want to make sure your clothes, your shoes, your accessories are put together. It's the same with your home, whether it's the mulch or the color scheme."

Because new landscaping may be there for a while, it's worth it to hire someone who knows what's going to last. "They can also suggest plants and landscaping that looks complementary to the exterior colors," Chan said. Or ask for advice at a nursery.

TIME TO FRESHEN UP

"Exterior paint makes a huge difference," Chan said. Power-washing might spray away the dirt, but if it's been years since you've painted, you'll need a fresh coat. "That might be more money than you want to spend but if you've got neutral colors to begin with, painting just the front of the house, what everybody sees, makes a big difference."

THE EYESORES

Part of selling your home is selling a dream for the potential buyer. And a junkyard isn't part of that dream. "They can live like absolute slobs at home. But if they look at a property that's just like theirs, they're not going to look at it. They want the fantasy, not the reality. You don't want to sell Sanford and Son's yard," Chan said.

"Put away kids' toys, bikes, skateboards, scooters. The same with gardening tools, lawn furniture sitting out."

Downspouts hanging loose from gutters? Fix it. "In the buyer's mind, they think it's going to take a lot to fix," Chan said. "It doesn't cost a lot of money — but it looks like it. Avoid giving anybody any reason to think, 'I don't want to buy this house.' "

GRAND ENTRANCE

Lucky you. An interested buyer has reached the door. "A lot of times if you have a covered front entryway," Osborne said, "your potential buyer is going to be standing there, Realtor fiddling with the lockbox, and all the while the buyer is looking up at bugs and spiderwebs." Time for the broom.

There are other touches that signal what's to come when the door is opened.

"Mailboxes are a utility but they're also a calling card as to how you present yourself to the world," Osborne said.

House numbers need replacement, too, because, as Osborne said, they're an easy way to give people a visual cue that you are current. "You want people to see the numbers, but if you've got that 'ye olde wrought iron,' skip that, get chrome or brass in a more modern font."

THE COMPETITION

Put yourself in the buyer's shoes as you look at other houses for sale. "Make sure that you're just a little bit better than anybody else," Chan said.

REALTY CHECK

"The For Sale sign might say, 'Must See Inside!' " Chan said. "But nobody is going to look inside if they don't like the outside."



FAST FACTS

Make your home more appealing

• Pressure-wash the driveway.

• Make sure windows can be seen.

• Trim overgrown bushes.

• Beds need to be edged in mulch.

• Plant for seasonal color.

• A low-maintenance look is important.

• Paint rusted iron fencing.

• Invest in a sharp new doorknob.

Sources: Alice T. Chan (alicetchan.com) and Starr C. Osborne (tailoredtransitions.com)

Oil Spill Update

This is an excerpt from a lead article in the Tampa Bay Newspapers headed
“Oil spill update, Pinellas County prepares to wait” by Suzette Porter;
I hope it might be of assistance to you with buyers and sellers who might be concerned about the effects of the oil spill on local property value

According to Kelli Hammer Levy, division director for Pinellas County's Watershed Management Department…
"The county's emergency management department and the environmental management department keep in touch with the U.S. Coast Guard incident command center (in St. Petersburg) to keep track of where the oil is and projected to be so we stay in the best position to protect the local environment," Levy said.

She said NOAA was aggressively tracking the different areas of oil and releasing trajectories of its movements on a daily basis.

"Thus far there have been no signs (of oil), nothing," she said. "It's all hundreds of miles away from here."

She confirmed that researchers at the University of Florida believe that Pinellas County and much of the west coast of Florida will be protected from any major impact due to the loop current, which should take the oil south of the keys.

According to NOAA, the loop current is an area of warm water that travels up from the Caribbean, past the Yucatan Peninsula, and into the Gulf of Mexico. The current is also known as the Florida current as it flows through the Florida Strait, into the Gulf Stream, and heads north up the eastern coast of the U.S.

Experts with the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies report that the loop current is variable in position and can occasionally reach as high as the Mississippi river delta or the Florida continental shelf.

Levy said any oil that makes it to Pinellas County would be heavily weathered.

"Sun breaks it (oil) down and weathers it," she said. "If any comes here, we can expect it in the form of tar balls or tar mats."

As of June 11, Levy said the closest oil was 150 miles away.

BP Oil "Disaster" THE COAST IS CLEAR

We have all been hearing and seeing a lot about the BP oil “Disaster” in the past 45 days. While nothing has been spotted here in Pinellas County, Pensacola, which is another planet away from here, is expected to see signs of oil soon. The media has completely sensationalized the facts of this story and once again managed to panic the public from the reality of living. The media states “This is worse than Exxon Valdes” which may be true on a national level, but as far as the Florida Gulf Coast is concerned, Exxon Valdes happened right off of our shoreline and affected us immediately and noticeably, so in fact Exxon Valdes was a far greater disaster to Us here in Florida and we recovered. During Exxon Valdes, I was actively involved in the local business volunteer cleanup and animal rescue groups; it seemed like a complete “disaster” to me at the time, while I would estimate about 95% of the people here don’t even remember it as impacting their lives whatsoever. Although this is and will be considered a national disaster because of the amount of oil being s spewn into our waterways nationwide, progress is being made to control the situation, oil is in fact a natural product of the of the earth, sand and soil are natural filtration systems and this “disaster” will eventually take care of itself along with the efforts of the experts, clean- up teams and volunteers. The mistakes and errors of this event will be resolved, lessons will be learned and life goes on as usual here on the Beautiful Gulf Coast of Florida.

Real Estate Trends in 2010

Continued Buyer's Market Low prices and a large inventory of homes for buyers and low sales prices and fierce market competition for sellers continue in 2010. Fortunately, home sellers have many advantages over the foreclosure down the street. Today's homebuyers are looking for move-in ready homes, which most foreclosed homes are not. Preparing your home for sale, including cleaning, repairs, upgrades and staging will help your home stand out from the crowd. More Buyers Thanks to the $8,000 tax credit for new buyers, extended until April 30, 2010, expanded to include some existing homeowners, plus buyers with higher incomes, motivating current homeowners to trade up. More Foreclosures In an attempt help stabilize neighborhoods, Fannie Mae has come up with a potential solution to keep people in their homes by allowing some, losing their homes, to lease those properties back for up to a year. Stabilizing Home Values U.S. home values stabilizing nationally, but locally, many markets still have a ways to go. Lending Standards Tight In 2010, banks will continue to require extensive documentation and stellar credit from borrowers. Rising Mortgage Rates The Federal Reserve has kept mortgage rates at historic lows. However, rates are expected to jump as much as 1% after March 2010. Now is the time to take advantage. Construction Market In 2010 lenders are still reluctant to finance new construction projects for builders. Tricky Appraisal Rules The federal government passed the HVCC (rules that determine how appraisals should be made). Appraisals now take longer, and are often conducted by appraisers unfamiliar with the local market. The National Association of Realtors has called for a moratorium of the HVCC, but until this is resolved, expect delays in 2010. Smoother Short Sales In 2009, short sales, (seller's proceeds less than his mortgage debt), have been a slow and often unsuccessful process. In 2010, lenders and real estate professionals alike are working on ways to streamline the short-sale process. Cash Rules If you plan on financing a home purchase in 2010, be prepared for cash offer competition. Sellers and Banks typically accept these offers over those where loans are involved. To stand out from the competition, make your offer as attractive as possible.

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While it is not an easy task to sell your home in a Buyers market,it is certainly possible. There are plenty of qualified Buyers and money to loan while interest rates remain surprisingly stable. Pricing and preparing your home to sell are very important steps to attract Buyers. Curb Appeal First impressions are very important and you want Buyers to like what they see. Among many things, a fresh coat of paint, landscape or attractive driveway, trim growth away from house exterior, make sure entry is clean. Clutter The more clutter you have, the more equity you can expect to lose in your home. Too many things in a room make the room look small and distracts Buyers. Personal Items Neutralize your home by removing items such as family photos, special collections, and bold colors with decorating. This will make it easier for Buyers to visualize their own things in the home. Clean Everything Cleaning is so Important. Your house should be spotless. The last thing people want to see is anything in the home that is dirty. It is a complete turnoff to see a dirty tub, a stove that has caked on food or floors that look horrible. Make sure windows are sparkling, vacuum and scrub. Smell.
If your homes smells like pets or smoke that is an instant negative and you may have to paint and remove carpet and window treatments. It is wonderful
to walk into a house that smells good. Air fresheners are great or consider baking before potential Buyers arrive. People are more likely to purchase homes that smell great. And these are just a few of my suggestions for selling
your home faster.

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