Real Estate Articles
Picture This
by Mark Callahan
So you’re selling your house and your walls and bookshelves are strewn with personal photographs. Should you leave them up or take them down? To answer this question, one must look through the eyes of a buyer.
As guests walk through your house, can they pen your biography just by looking at pictures? Do you have records of every marriage, birth, graduation and birthday recorded in framed glossy paper and hanging in hallways, and resting on nightstands? Most everyone proudly displays their lineage at every opportunity possible. One needs only request updated baby status from a new grandmother in order to be inundated with hospital photos and adorable tales of gurgles and coos. This is great for casual catch-up dinner conversations or story swap sessions on the phone, but not so good for new buyers.
The goal behind opening your house to a potential buyer is that you want them to become the next owners. In order to do that, the potential buyers need to feel as if they are welcome in the house. You don’t want them to feel like a guest. Many know of the eccentric aunt or grandmother who devotes one part of their house to a museum like atmosphere where prominent antique furniture rest delicately on the unexplored white high piled carpet. This room probably gave origination to the phrase formal living room. There were no footprints on the carpet, no toys on the floor and no human within a ten foot radius. There may as well have been an unwelcome mat at the threshold. No one entered the room unless invited and even then there was a feeling of unease unspoken tension.
Recognizing this is an extreme comparison, the same unwelcomed feelings should be avoided at all costs. When buyers enter the house you want them to feel like they are at home. You want them to begin decorating their new home by placing furniture as they walk through rooms. To say things like, “Wouldn’t the couch look great there,” or “We could put the bed this way and then we would have room for the nightstand and the dresser.” When buyers are able to do this without distractions or constrictions, they feel at home. If they feel like someone is watching them or they spend more time trying to recognize someone in a picture than they do placing their possessions, there is a greater chance they won’t remember the house. If they don’t remember it, they probably won’t want to buy it.
When it comes to buyers, it is important for them to view your house as their home. In order to do this more successfully, the less distraction they have the better. Box up any personal pictures and store them for the new house. You’re going to have to pack them up sometime if you plan on moving and better now than later.
Tile is a very popular form of flooring in today's market. You'll find it everywhere from entryways and baths to kitchen backsplashes. Homeowners, both those staying put and those selling, are looking for ways to make small changes to improve the appeal of their homes. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of going tile.
Pros:
Durability: Tile installed correctly can last for decades. Apart from accidental chips and cracks, it really stands up to normal wear and tear.
Beauty: Versatile designs and colors make for a beautiful choice for any home. From luxury to budget, there are a wide range of sizes and surfaces from which to choose!
Affordability: While marble and travertine can be budget-busters, ceramic and porcelain tile can many times be less expensive than laminate or even carpet.
Do-it-Yourself: Today's homeowners need projects that they can tackle themselves. Installing tile is easy to do yourself. Read online and view YouTube videos for tips and tricks.
Easy to Clean: Simple mopping removes most dirt and grime, which wipes away easily. Tile is also virtually stain resistant.
Heating: Tile works well with radiant heat flooring. Install mats yourself for toasty toes during winter months.
Go Green: Natural stone and non-toxic grout are stellar green flooring choices, especially when compared to carpets. It has fewer fumes and toxic coatings.
Cons:
Repairs: Tiles can break. They don't absorb the same impact as carpets or wood. Repairing one tile can be difficult, so be sure to keep extras on hand.
Labor Intensive: Tile is a do-it-yourself project, but not one for the faint of heart. It takes heavy duty mixing and lifting.
Cost: It depends entirely on the type of tile you choose, but higher-end tiles can be pricey.
Slippery: Tile is slippery when wet. This makes it a less than ideal choice for entryways. You can avoid this downfall by upgrading to a more textured tile, such as travertine or slate.
Echo Echo Echo: Carpet absorbs sound. Tiles don't. Take this into consideration in high volume areas.
Maintenance: Grout can be hard to maintain. It can crumble or discolor. Be sure to use the proper sealant on grout to keep it in good repair.
Tile is an ideal choice when updating your house. It has its pros and cons, but it can increase appeal and saleability.
Published: September 20, 2011
Notably, he said, it's housing that has our attention. A significant factor of recovery for the last half a century has been housing, but today this sector is plagued by "an overhang of distressed and foreclosed properties, tight credit conditions for builders and potential homebuyers, and ongoing concerns by both potential borrowers and lenders about continued house price declines." This has kept the rate of new construction at less that one-third of its pre-crisis peak.
Bernanke also noted that "even as tight credit for builders and potential homebuyers has been one of the factors restraining the housing recovery, the weak housing market has in turn adversely affected financial markets and the flow of credit. For example, the sharp declines in house prices in some areas have left many homeowners "underwater" on their mortgages, creating financial hardship for households and, through their effects on rates of mortgage delinquency and default, stress for financial institutions as well."
One striking aspect of the recovery is the unusual weakness in household spending," Bernanke noted. "After contracting very sharply during the recession, consumer spending expanded moderately through 2010, only to decelerate in the first half of 2011."
High levels of unemployment along with lagging wage growth have spurred consumers to save more and borrow less. Consumers are cautious and pessimistic.
Yet, while the recovery from the recession is not what many had hoped for, Bernanke does not expect long-run growth potential to be materially dampened by the crisis if action is take to secure a positive outcome.
It's no wonder, however, that consumers aren't spending. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of American living below the poverty line was the highest it has been in 52 years. 46.2 million Americans now live under the poverty line, defined as income of less than $22,314 for a family of four. This is the fourth consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate.
Housing may be at its highest levels of affordability in years, but it is still well out of reach for this portion of Americans, or a staggering 15.1 percent of the population. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) indicates that in today's market "72.6 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the second quarter of the year were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,200."
"This is truly a lost decade," said Lawrence Katz, economics professor at Harvard. "We think of America as a place where every generation is doing better, but we're looking at a period when the median family is in worse shape than it was in the late 1990s."
The middle class is feeling the pressure as well, with median household incomes falling last year to levels last seen in 1997. Some analysts think this latest Census Bureau report may put added pressure on Congress to pass Obama's recent jobs bill, since joblessness was the major factor in pushing families into poverty.
Published: September 19, 2011
