Adding Value To Your Home Through the Garage

By nature, garages are places where we store many things we don’t want or need in the house. They’re also places where oil and gasoline are spilled due to cars, mowers, snow blowers, roto-tillers, etc.

Garages tend to store toys, mementos and many other items that, at one time, we thought vitally important. Then, when we go through them, we wonder why in the world we thought they were so important in the first place!

Well, as you can guess, all those boxes, stains, smells, unorganized tools, etc., can add up to an unsightly mess in the eyes of potential buyers. So, that means it’s time for a cleanup and, just as important, a rigorous re-organization of the garage to make it “shine” in the eyes of buyers.

First:  
Go through all those boxes in your garage and sort out the items. Be ruthless and toss out anything that no longer has any use or meaning. Even better, donate items that are still useful to your favorite charity. You’ll feel great and make somebody else happy at the same time. By clearing out all the clutter, you’ll make it easier to take the next step.

Second:
Clean the garage as thoroughly as possible. Get rid of dust and dirt anywhere you find it. If you have minor oil/gas stains on the floor, you may be able to pressure wash them away.

However, if they’re large and/or long-standing, then you’ll need to find a cleanser like TSP (trisodium phosphate) or specially-made cleansers like “Gunk,” “Swab,” etc. that can be found at paint/automotive stores or in sections of “big box” stores like Wal-Mart.

Third:
Consider a “garage organization” system. Usually, the cheapest ones consist of storage bins and wall hooks. But, if you want to spend the money, there are also ones available with wall panels and flooring. Depending on your needs, an organization system can range from approximately $40 to thousands.

Simply google “garage organization systems,” and you’ll find plenty of links to companies selling these products.No matter what system you choose, it will definitely give your garage a clean and professional look.

I can’t stress how impressive it is to potential buyers to have a well-organized garage.

This tells them that you’re a person who takes care of every detail of your home and property. And that, in turn, lets them know that buying your home will be a great investment on their part
and well worth the asking price.

Need more hints on how to spruce up your garage or any other part of your home and property? If so, contact me today at teresa@teamelliott.net or 402.690.1573. Maybe you can provide me with some useful tips as well!

3 Major Factors Working Against the Housing Market in the Second Quarter of 2010

What I’m going to outline for you now is how this will impact us and why it is so urgent for your sellers and prospective seller to act NOW.

1.Climbing interest rates
2.Worsening lending guidelines
3. Expiring tax credits

Rates:
Interest rates have been at their historic low point (5%-5.5%) for so long now, most people have forgotten that the average 30 year rate is somewhere between 7% and 7.5%.

On March 30th, the Federal Reserve will cease buying all the low rate mortgage bonds. This means buyers will qualify for “less” house since interest rates will likely be around 6%-6.5% by June and probably in the 6.5%-7% range by the end of the year. This is the optimistic forecast. If inflation shows up we’ll see rates spike sooner.

Worsening Lending Guidelines: 
Buyers will qualify for “less” house because lending guidelines continue to become more restrictive. The pendulum is not done swinging. We can currently qualify buyers at 50% of their gross income. This will fall to 41%-45% by mid year and we are unlikely to see any improvement until we’ve had a few years where loans stop defaulting. Also, the minimum credit score required to purchase FHA is about to move from 620 to 640.

Looking at those three factors we can see less demand, tougher qualifying through higher rates, and tougher qualifying through lower debt standards. These three combined will put another layer of significant pricing pressure on housing over and above some of the REO pressure that exists already.

Tax Credits Expire: 
Buyers will no longer be provided incentives by the government to purchase houses. You probably have some decent statistics about what % of sales over 100K are 1st time or move up homebuyers. This will put a significant dent in demand.


Here is a tangible example of what I'm talking about:
Today Sally Seller sells her 200K home to Billy Buyer. Billy gets a 200K loan at 5.5% and qualifies for the $1135 payment…everyone is happy. Months from now Sally Seller tries to sell her home to Billy Buyer for 200K but the market is at 6.5%. Billy can't qualify for the extra $130 per month. For Billy to qualify for that $1135 payment when rates are 6.5%, Sally has to sell her 200K house for 180K.

This is JUST due to interest rate pressure, we’re not even considering Billy’s debt ratio or the fact that because the tax incentives are long gone, there will be fewer of Billy.

Your sellers have no idea what waiting means in this market.
They believe waiting means give it a year and the REO will be out of the way and we'll be fine. The reality is as interest rates climb on a 200K house they will lose 20K in sales price for every 1% increase to rates. We're at 5%-5.25% now and we're headed into the 7%-7.5% range. You can do the math quickly.

Your sellers must take advantage of this opportunity to sell NOW.
Your listing appointments must understand what,"waiting out the market" means. Some people will feel they don’t want to "give away" their house. But the reality is, they can cash out for significantly more value in the first half of this year, especially in the first quarter, than they will in the next 2-3 years.

Remind them that when the REO is off the market, their competition to sell is then everyone who bought an REO or undervalued home. And they will sell for significantly less. Do not let your sellers and prospects lose tens of thousands of dollars chasing a market that will take 10 years to recover.

While not my usual, “roses and sunshine,” I nevertheless hope you have found this information as useful, actionable and urgent as I feel it is for you. These timelines are very real, but unfortunately no one is talking or being educated about it properly.

My hope is you can help your clients realize and capitalize on this valuable information.