FROM YAHOO: 10 DIY Projects To Sell Your Home Faster

With the troubled housing market of the past five years and banks still reluctant to lend, its no wonder homeowners hoping to sell are sitting on the market for months at a time. Buyers, meanwhile, are trying to find a balance between their dream home and one that's affordable.

For those trying to sell a house, what are some quick and easy DIY projects that can help sell your home faster? We asked experts to share step-by-step instructions for completing projects bound to modernize your home, from resurfacing cabinets to eliminating home odors to re-caulking bathroom grout.

1. Create a welcoming entrance
If you don't immediately impress potential buyers as they enter the home, you're setting yourself up for a tough sell. Creating a welcoming entrance is arguably the most effective way to sell your home faster.

Doug Perlson, co-founder and CEO of RealDirect.com, shares the following tips for instantly improving curb appeal:
Remove weeds and make sure plantings are trimmed and don't appear overgrown.
Replace old address numbers with modern exterior ones. It’s a quick and inexpensive update.
Paint the front door and refrain from excessive decoration.
Part of what makes an entrance appealing is what you don't see. Specifically, your entrance should not be crowded with shoes, keys, mail, etc.

2. Mulch
Applying mulch to your front and back yards is another inexpensive way to make your home more appealing to buyers.

Jason Cameron, TV host and TruGreen partner, shares these strategies for mulching:
Apply a one- to three-inch layer of mulch – any thicker, and roots will begin growing in the mulch instead of the soil, making them susceptible to drought and low temperatures.
Check the depth of the mulch in your landscape beds. It should be two to three inches deep. Add more mulch if you do not have the minimum level in place, but do not exceed four inches. When rainfall is limited, mulch not only conserves soil moisture, but moderates soil temperature and helps deter weeds.
Make sure your mulch is not too close to the base or trunk of the plant, as it could cause decay and winter injury.

3. Eliminating odors
You may not notice odors in your home, but prospective buyers will.

Jill M. Banks of Happily Better After Room Redesign & Home Staging suggests using baking soda as a way to fight odors: "Baking soda is a natural odor neutralizer, so if a spot in the carpet still smells funky after cleaning, try sprinkling some baking soda on it, leave it for 15 minutes or so, then vacuum."

She says baking soda can also be used in garbage disposals, trash cans, washing machines and refrigerators to knock out mystery smells.

4. Resurfacing cabinets
Replacing your cabinets is undoubtedly a major expense and will likely require a professional to complete. Resurfacing your cabinets is a cost-effective way to spruce up your kitchen, though.

Design expert Kathy Peterson offers the following steps to a perfect cabinet:
Step 1: Remove hardware, doors and drawers.
Step 2: Clean the surface.
Step 3: Deglaze it with liquid sand, then clean again.
Step 4: Paint and, depending on the style you're looking for, add a tint over the paint (design kits can help you with this).

5. Baseboard repairs
The baseboards in your home are subject to plenty of wear and tear over the years. To make some easy repairs, Frank Foti, business manager adviser for Mr. Handyman, offers these tips:
Strike nails flush with face of trim board using a nail punch or awl tool.
Patch holes and/or small cracks/dents with wood filler; sand; re-paint.
Caulk or re-caulk top of trim to wall.

Article Courtesy of Yahoo.

Keller Williams Realty Dominates the 2012 Real Trends 500!

Keller Williams dominated the REALTrends 500 Report. Agents, tout your top-notch status with your sphere. Leadership, spread the word that you are the clear winners in your market!

Baltimore-area foreclosures up from April, down from 2011

Foreclosure activity in Greater Baltimore and Maryland is following a national trend of short-term increase and year-over-year decline.

In May, one out of every 1,651 Greater Baltimore housing units was in foreclosure — a 7.7 percent spike over April but a 2.5 percent decrease from May 2011, according to data from RealtyTrac Inc.

Statewide, the foreclosure rate increased 20.3 percent from April to May, but decreased 4.1 percent from May 2011. Similarly, the national foreclosure rate increased 12 percent from April to May, but declined 15 percent since May 2011.

There are 205,999 housing units in foreclosure in the United States following two straight months during which that number had dipped below the 200,000 mark.

Although the numbers are mixed, RealtyTrac CEO Brandon Moore said analysis continues to point to a spike in distressed properties.

“U.S. foreclosure activity has now decreased on a year-over-year basis for 20 straight months including May,” Moore said, “but the jump in May foreclosure starts shows that it’s going to be a bumpy ride down to the bottom of this foreclosure cycle.”

Pre-foreclosure sales are on the rise, Moore said, suggesting an increasing number of properties are going to end up selling in short sales or auction sales to third parties rather than bank-owned sales.

That, he added, would be a relatively good development both for lenders and homeowners.

“Pre-foreclosure homes sell at a higher average price point than bank-owned homes,” Moore said.

“More banks are now recognizing that treating the problem of delinquent mortgages with short sales rather than bank repossessions can help them minimize their losses and also avoid taking on more [owned real estate], which they have to manage, maintain and market for sale.”

Article Courtesy of James Briggs of the Baltimore Business Journal.

Top 10 Home Improvement Myths

Not all home improvements are created equal. Even in a seller’s market, it’s important that homeowners make the right investments that will yield higher returns. As you guide your clients toward a profitable sale, make sure you’re an expert on the top 10 home improvement myths so you can prevent your clients from believing them.

Father’s Day is next week, and Dad is sure to get a few tools or gift certificates to a home improvement store that he’ll be itching to use, so make sure your clients are in-the-know before then!

Top 10 Home Improvement Myths:

1. Any remodeling project will add value to your home. While many remodeling projects will add value to a home, some can be seen as a negative by future buyers. For instance, combining two smaller bedrooms to create one larger bedroom may better fit one homeowner’s lifestyle today, but it may cause the home to lose value in the eyes of a future buyer who needs the two separate rooms.

2. Buying the highest-quality materials attracts more buyers.

Installing high-end materials may seem like a wise decision, but it can backfire. For instance, using the most expensive tile in a bathroom may create an impressive appearance, but value-conscious buyers may opt for a more affordable home if the seller has over-improved compared to others in the neighborhood.

3. Adding square footage always adds value. A better way to think about this statement is to insert the word useable into the sentence. Finished attics and basements – even if considered liveable by local standards – may not be attractive to a buyer if they are not finished to the same standards as the rest of the home.

4. Colors and textures – safe and simple is better. Keeping a home “vanilla” so buyers can choose their own style and décor might be a safe bet, but it ignores the fact that most buyers just don’t have the ability to visualize the home differently. Without splashes of color and mixtures of texture, sellers can lose value to others that have taken the time to consult with an interior designer.

5. Inside improvements are better than outside improvements.

Not necessarily. If a home’s exterior has been neglected or doesn’t offer a good curb appeal, a buyer might stop there – and then the seller’s efforts on on the inside may not net them any more dollars. To get the biggest bang for their remodeling buck, sellers should start from the outside and work their way in.

6. Adding a bedroom is better than adding a bathroom. It depends on the starting point. If a seller only has one or two bedrooms to start with, adding a bedroom before adding a second bath is probably a wise choice since most buyers are more attracted to three-bedroom homes. On the other hand, if the home already has three bedrooms and only one bath, the sellers’s next investment should probably be in a new bathroom.

7. Paint hides a multitude of sins. Dry rot? Fungus damage? Mold problems? Carpenter ants? Termite issues? Nothing a can of paint can’t fix, right? Wrong! Not only does this practice violate disclosure laws in most states, it can set sellers up for liability after the sale, as most buyers will want the sellers to foot the bill for these hidden issues.

8. Converting a garage to living space is a great trade-off.  Nope. A garage conversion is almost always viewed negatively by future home buyers unless the sellers replace the lost garage with another parking and storage space of equal size.

9. Sellers can save money by doing improvements themselves. For some homeowners, wiring a new lighting fixture or plumbing a new dishwasher is a no-brainer, but for others it may end up costing more later if they have to have the work redone by a professional. Another consideration is local and state laws regarding remodeling work: In many states if a buyer has purchased a home to remodel and resell, they must either hold a contractor’s license or hire a contractor to do the work for them.

10. Pools add value to your home. This is only true in areas where pools are must-have amenities. In most areas of the country, pools have more limited appeal – and the idea of maintaining a pool for ten months out of the year when it can’t be enjoyed won’t appeal to most buyers.

Knowing these top home-improvement myths will allow you to help your seller clients choose the right remodeling projects. But don’t stop there. To keep your pulse on the amenities that are coveted most in your market, talk to local remodeling professionals, contractors, and home-improvement specialists on a regular basis.