Homeowner
10
GreatTO Ways
Boast
CURBFORAPPEAL
UNDER $500
Mary Agent
Managing Broker
Coldwell Banker
Homeowner
Welcome
Mary Agent
I hope you enjoy this magazine. Included is a collection of articles
from national bestselling authors designed to educate, inspire and
entertain.
As trusted advisors, our role is to help local homeowners make
informed real estate decisions about their personal and business
investments. If you would like a market analysis on your home,
investment property or have questions about your current mortgage,
refinancing your home or wanting to purchase a new home; I hope you
give me a call.
I look forward to serving all of your real estate needs.
Sincerely,
Mary Agent
Managing Broker
Coldwell Banker
Mary Agent
1234 5th Ave SE
Seattle WA 98004
425-747-0000
[email protected]
www.MaryAgent.com
Coldwell Banker
REAL ESTATE
CURB APPEAL
10
GreatTO Ways
Boast
CURBFORAPPEAL
UNDER $500
H
ow’s your curb appeal? Don’t know? If you anticipate putting your home
on the market anytime in the near future, the curb appeal of your home is
something you’ll want to consider.
Curb appeal is the face your home presents to the world. It molds the first
impression that prospective buyers form of your home. And if it’s not upto-snuff, it’s also the last impression that prospective buyers will have of your home.
THREE FREE CURB APPEAL
BOOSTING PROJECTS
There are a number of projects that can help you
significantly boost curb appeal with nothing more than
some cleaning supplies and household utensils—and a
liberal application of elbow grease, of course.
1
Spiffy-Up Siding And Decking
Make your moldy siding and dingy decking sparkle and
shine, and you’ll give your curb appeal a huge bump. To
get the best results you can rent a pressure washer, but
just a garden hose, a bucket of soapy water and lots of
labor can do wonders. (The National Association of Realtors notes that simply giving a home a good washing can
add $10,000 to $15,000 to the sale price!)
2
Do The Windows
You’re tired of looking through those smudges and
smears anyway, aren’t you? Even if you don’t do windows, it’s worth making an exception when your home
is on the market.
3
Landscape Labor
You knew this one was coming, didn’t you? Yes, prune
those trees, trim those hedges, pull those weeds—it all
makes a difference.
INNER BEAUTY ISN’T ENOUGH
The interior of your home may be pristine and picture
perfect, worthy of a photo layout in Better Homes & Gardens.
But if the outer beauty of your home—its curb appeal—is
less-than-impressive, it’s not likely that many home shoppers will ever lay eyes upon your home’s inner beauty.
According to Ron Phipps, past president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), “Curb appeal remains
king—it’s the first thing potential home buyers notice
when looking for a home….”
In fact, nearly half of all home-buying decisions are
swayed to a yea or nay based upon a property’s curb appeal, according to the NAR.
But in spite of the importance of curb appeal, boosting
your home’s curb appeal doesn’t have to be a big-budget
proposition. Sure, there are plenty of big-ticket items that
can impact your home’s curb appeal—the condition of
your roof, for example—but there are many low-cost and
even no-cost tweaks you can make to significantly boost
the curb appeal of your home.
Here are ten projects that can give a significant bump
to your curb appeal without busting your bank account:
7
Tweak Your Landscape
Pruning, trimming and weeding you can do for free.
But you can also spend a bit and bump up the beauty of
your landscape considerably. If it’s the right time of year,
buy a bunch of potted flowers to add a colorful touch to
your yard. If trees are sparse on your property, splurge
on a few trees (transplants sold in 5-gallon containers are
usually quite affordable).
8
FIVE CURB APPEAL BOOSTING
PROJECTS FOR UNDER $100
These projects will take a little bit of coin, but each
can be completed for less than $100 in materials.
4
Mailbox Makeover
Does your mailbox wobble and sway in the wind? Is
it dinged and dented, with paint chipping off like scabby wounds? That’s a curb appeal no-no! Whether your
box just needs some TLC or a complete replacement, it’s
worth the cost and effort. Will prospective buyers notice
your sparkly new mailbox? Maybe not. But you can be
sure their eyes will be drawn to your ratty old mailbox
faster than you can say “the check’s in the mail.”
5
Door Do-Over
Are your front door’s best days behind it? So is the interior of your house, which prospective buyers may never
see if they’re turned off by the exterior of your door. But
if your door is still structurally sound, it’s an inexpensive
project to repaint or restain it, and to replace old hardware (hinges and knobs) with new if needed. More people will come a’knocking!
6
Add Some New Numbers
Who ever thinks about house numbers? Postal carriers and delivery people do, but most homeowners don’t.
And over the years, those numbers can get to looking
pretty sad, and sometimes less than legible. But spiffy
new numbers can be had for under twenty dollars a digit.
That’s a bargain when it comes to boosting curb appeal.
Upgrade Exterior Light Fixtures
How long has it been since you’ve taken a look at your
outside light fixtures? Probably a long time, unless you’ve
recently had to replace a bulb.
And while your old light fixtures might not look all that
bad, consider whether shiny,
bright new fixtures would
look a lot better. If so, replacing them can give a nice
boost to your curb appeal.
This project could move
into the under-$500 category,
depending upon the number
of fixtures you decide to replace and the expense of the new fixtures you choose. Perfectly fine fixtures, though, can be had for as little as twenty dollars. (Be careful to choose replacement fixtures that
have the same mounting footprint as your current fixtures.)
TWO CURB APPEAL BOOSTING
PROJECTS FOR UNDER $500
Paint Party
This one’s iffy for this category, but depending upon
the size of your home, you may be able to buy all the
supplies needed to repaint your house for under $500.
That leaves you (and whomever you can con, Tom Sawyer style, into helping you) to do all the labor, of course.
But few things are more off-putting to a prospective buyer
than a house that needs painting. And few curb appeal
boosting projects will be more effective than giving your
house a fresh new coat of paint.
9
10
Outside Ornamentation
How about a garden trellis with climbing vines, or
perhaps a stylish birdbath for a particularly homey touch?
Maybe even a pair of architectural pots bordering your
entryway, planted with ornamental grasses, shrubs, or
seasonal, colorful annuals?
DON’T BE THE VICTIM OF A DRIVE-BY
When prospective homebuyers first become interested
in a house, quite often they will drive by the home just to
get a quick first impression. As they ease past the home in
question, they’re giving it a fast once-over. From that initial impression, they’ll form a thumbs-up or thumbs-down
opinion about the house. And that’s all about curb appeal.
If the home has great curb appeal that has the prospective buyer bumping the brakes to take a longer, longing look at the house—a sale may be imminent. They’ll
at least call the realtor to arrange for a closer look at the
property. But if the home’s curb appeal is, shall we say,
less than attractive, they’ll hit the gas instead and head
to the next property on their list, with nary a look back.
If your home is the property in question, will it cause
drive-by brake-bumping or gas-goosing? It all depends
upon your curb appeal. ■
STRATEGIES
HOME SELLING
Why
YOU
SHOULD
YOUR
HOUSE
SELL NOW
By The
KCM Crew
Many now realize that it is a great time to buy a home. It might also be
an opportune time to sell your house. Here are the five reasons we believe
now may be a perfect time to put your house on the market.
1
Demand Is High
The most recent Existing Home Sales Reports by the
National Association of Realtors (NAR) show a double-digit percent increase in sales year-over-year; sales
have remained above last year’s levels for over 25 months.
There are buyers out there right now and they are serious
about purchasing.
2
Supply Is Beginning to Increase
Total housing inventory is again approaching
historic norms of a five month supply compared with 4.3 months in January. Many expect inventory to continue to rise as 3.2 million homeowners
escaped the shackles of negative equity in the last 12
months and an additional 1.9 million are expected to
enter positive equity in the next 12 months. Selling
now while demand is high and before supply increases
may garner you your best price.
3
New Construction Is Coming Back
Over the last several years, most homeowners
selling their home did not have to compete
with a new construction project around the block. As
the market is recovering, more and more builders are
jumping back in. These ‘shiny’ new homes will again
become competition as they are an attractive alternative
for many purchasers.
4
Interest Rates Will Again Rise
Although Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows that interest rates for a 30-year
mortgage have softened recently, most experts predict
that they will begin to rise later this year. The Mortgage
Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the
National Association of Realtors are in unison projecting
that rates will be up almost a full percentage point by this
time next year.
Whether you are moving up or moving down, your
housing expense will be more a year from now if a mortgage is necessary to purchase your next home.
5
It’s Time to Move On with Your Life
Look at the reason you are thinking about selling
and decide whether it is worth waiting. Is the possibility of a few extra dollars more important than being
with family; more important than your health; more important than having the freedom to go on with your life
the way you think you should?
You already know the answers to the questions we
just asked. You have the power to take back control of
your situation by putting the house on the market today.
The time may have come for you and your family to
move on and start living the life you desire. That is what
is truly important. ■
STRATEGIES
HOMEOWNERSHIP
HOMEOWNERSHIP’s
Impact
ON
NET
WORTH
By The KCM Crew
O
ver the last five years, homeownership has lost
some of its allure as a financial investment. As
homeowners suffered through the housing bust,
more and more began to question whether
owning a home was truly a good way to build
wealth. A recent study by the Federal Reserve formally
answered this question.
SOME OF THE FINDINGS
REVEALED IN THEIR REPORT:
✦T
he average American family has a
net worth of $77,300
✦O
f that net worth, 61.4% ($47,500)
of it is in home equity
✦A
homeowner’s net worth is over thirty times
greater than that of a renter
✦T
he average homeowner has a
net worth of $174,500
while the average
net worth of a
renter is $5,100
BOTTOM LINE: The
Fed study found that
homeownership is still a
great way for a family to build
wealth in America. ■
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