We’re smack in the middle prime house-selling season. The National Association of Realtors predicts that 6.6 million existing homes will change hands this year.

But many markets around the country are cooling, and the inventories of homes for sale are rising. Compared to the hot real estate market of recent years, you can no longer automatically expect to sell a house quickly and for a high price.

However, sensible pricing and careful presentation can go a long way toward hastening a transaction. Follow these four tips, and you’ll be on your way to selling your home for a good price this summer:

1. Find Out What Your House Is Worth

You can’t charge the right price unless you know what that is. So do a little research:

Go online. For a free Multiple Listing Service Home Market Check that shows what other residences like yours sold for recently in your area, visit the HomeInsight Web site. Or, check out Yahoo! Real Estate and click on “What’s my home worth.” Finally, visit Realtor.com, where you can browse more than 2.5 million residential listings and take advantage of several services that can help you to determine your home’s value.

Check local real estate listings. To get a more accurate sense of your home’s worth, look at local real estate listings (often searchable by neighborhood, house size, and price on local realtors’ Web sites) for a sense of what houses of similar size, condition, locations, and amenities are going for in your area. Large real estate brokerage firms tend to have the most sophisticated Web sites. Some of my favorite realtor sites include Coldwell Banker, Century 21, and Re/Max.

Attend open-house showings. To get to know a market in a weekend, check open-house listings and attend these events to see what your neighbors are selling their homes for. How do their homes look compared to yours? How are they priced? Talk to the real estate agents hosting the events to find out which properties are moving and why. Asking these questions can help you get a quick handle on the market — and let you know what you need to do to prepare your home for sale.

Get a comparative-value analysis from a professional. You don’t have to do this all yourself — and candidly, you shouldn’t. Get a referral for a real estate agent, and let them know that you’re considering selling your home. Ask them to provide you with a detailed “comparative-value analysis” on your home. The analysis will include information about recent sales of homes similar to yours. Ask the agent for an analysis that includes the last year or more of sales for a complete picture, but the most recent transactions are the ones to use as your benchmark.

While you’re at it, ask the agent to provide you with a listing of current homes like yours for sale and how long they’ve been on the market. Finally, request a marketing proposal stating at what price they’d list your house and what they’d do to help you sell it. There’s usually no charge for this service, as this is the agent’s chance to woo you as a client.

2. Make It Look Pretty and Smell Nice Before the Sale

De-clutter the interior. Pare down before the move. Potential buyers want to see your house, not your possessions. A sparse interior containing just enough furniture to suggest each room’s purpose and to provide a sense of scale is ideal. Clean out drawers, empty closets and attics, vacate the basement, and tidy the garage.

Consider renting an inexpensive self-storage unit for items you don’t want in the house during a showing. And most importantly, lose the family photos. You want the visitor to think of the house as theirs, not yours.

Give it a good cleaning or hire a cleaning service to do a thorough, one-time job. Make ceilings, walls, floors, carpets, windows, faucets, and fixtures look good — dust, scrub, and polish until everything sparkles and smells clean.

Paint, repair, replace. The fastest and cheapest thing you can do to help you sell your house is repaint. A fresh coat of paint inside and out can quickly make your house look and smell new. When in doubt, paint the outside a color common in the neighborhood and the inside white.

If it’s broke and obvious, fix it! Cracked windowpanes, sticking doors, dripping faucets, running toilets — take care of them up front, so you don’t have to explain them away later. If you don’t want to do it yourself, make a “punch list” and hire a handyman service. Your investment will likely pay off many times over in a higher sale price — and, most importantly, a house that sells.

Create curb appeal. In the beginning, it always comes down this: How does the house look from the curb when the person drives up (assuming you aren’t selling a condo in a building). Studies have shown that simply repainting a house is the best investment you can make when reselling. If your home has synthetic siding, a good power washing may be able to help it shine like new again. Dirty or weathered decks can benefit from the same treatment.

Next, compare your landscaping to others in your neighborhood. You don’t have to have the cutest house on the block, but if your yard looks barren, plant some flowers (people love them) and a few bushes. Finally, new grass in the front can make an old yard look brand new (a fast and often cheap fix). Add new house numbers, a nice doorbell or knocker, and a plush new entry mat — they all help to make a great first impression. Oh, and make sure the front door looks great and functions perfectly.

Clean out the garage, and remove children’s toys from the yard. That goes for that creaky, rusty, long-abandoned swing set, too.

3. Research a Sales Method

There’s more than one way to sell a house. Here are the three most popular choices:

Commissioned real estate agents are the traditional and most successful option. According to the National Association of Realtors, a recent study shows that sellers assisted by an agent get a price for their home 16% higher than those selling on their own. They offer many services for a commission that’s generally about 6 percent of your home’s sales price — but the fee is often negotiable. For more information, visit Realtor.com, which is owned and operated by the National Association of Realtors.

Flat-fee brokers perform many of the same services for a fixed fee — often less than a traditional agent’s commission. For more information, check out FlatFeeListing.com.

Selling it yourself allows you to potentially avoid broker fees and commissions altogether by doing your own marketing. However, there are costs and do-it-yourself work involved. ForSaleByOwner.com has more information.

4. Consider renting out your house instead of selling it.

O.K., now that you know what you need to do to sell your house, I’d like you to consider another option that will not just make you some money, it may make you rich. Don’t sell your house now. Hang onto it and rent it out. That’s right — if you rent out your home for more than the cost of the mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs, it’ll provide you with some extra income each month.

Real estate investors call this “positive cash flow” or “passive income.” That income is apt to increase over time, as your mortgage payment is likely fixed, but the rental’s value tends to grow. Eventually, the mortgage is paid off, you own the home free and clear, and you still get to collect the rent — and pocket almost all of it. Plus, the property will likely continue appreciate, even as it throws off cash.

Written by David Bach

The property auction system of selling real estate when implemented effectively is without a doubt the most successful method of sale available. The auction system is designed to remove the price as an objection and encourage purchasers to act based on the benefits and features of the property itself.

Property is not unlike any other commodity whereby ‘the market’ will ultimately determine the final selling price. Naturally, the quality of the selling system implemented and the caliber of the salesperson can have a positive effect on the end result.

It is fair to say that the highest amount of activity generated for a home is normally in the first three to four weeks from the date the home is announced for sale to the market. A property auction is designed to capitalize on this high buyer activity period as the auction date set’s a date for the buyers to act after a 3-5 week marketing period.

Doesn’t it make sense to sell your home in competitive environment and in a period when the maximum amount of buyer interest is at hand?

Non Fixed Price Strategy Vs Fixed Price Strategy

The most common objection we receive from buyers, which often prevents them from inspecting property is based on the perception that the property is too expensive.

The auction system removes the price as an objection and ‘casts the net’ over the widest range of prospective purchasers. Our objective in an auction-marketing program is to make sure that all the likely buyers for a particular property are sold on the benefits of the home rather than the perception of price. Even buyers in slightly lower price ranges should be encouraged because we know that basic buyer psychology tells us that buyers buy up and they will normally pay 10-20% more for a property once thy have become emotionally involved in a property. We make sure that we don’t exclude buyers in lower price ranges who could end up paying more for a higher range property once they have been given time to become emotionally involved.

For example, let’s just say that we had two identical homes that are both worth around $100,000. House A decides to use the traditional method of marketing and uses an asking price of $119,000. House B however is being marketed via the auction system and calls for interest in excess of $90,000 and has set a date for buyers to act.

Now if you’re a buyer in the $90,000 – $120,000 price range, which home do you think you would inspect first?

Of course it would be House B.

What has happened with House A, with an asking price, is the buyer has been encouraged to inspect the home based on an unrealistic price. Most buyers are obviously interested in buying well and as a result they have probably inspected House B first.

This is the pricing tool used in conjunction with an auction campaign.

– See more at: http://frogpond.com/Real-Estate-Auction–A-Superior-Pricing-Strategy-FP1-datherton01#sthash.sQJfHUwh.dpuf

You’ve decided to go for it. Buying a home can be thrilling and nerve-wracking at the same time, especially for a first-time homebuyer. It’s difficult to know exactly what to expect. The learning curve can be steep, but most of the issues can be resolved by doing a little financial homework at the outset.

Take these 5 steps to help make the process go more smoothly.

Now that you know how much you can afford, check out Bankrate’s mortgage rate comparison-shopping tool today.

Check your credit

The homebuyer’s credit score is among the most important factors when it comes to qualifying for a loan these days.

“In addition, the standards are higher in terms of what score you need and how it affects the cost of the loan,” says Mike Winesburg, formerly a mortgage planner with McKinley Carter Wealth Services in Wheeling, West Virginia.

To get a sense of where your credit stands, go to myBankrate to collect your credit report and score today, free and with no obligation.

Scour the reports for mistakes, unpaid accounts or collection accounts.

Just because you pay everything on time every month doesn’t mean your credit is stellar, however. The amount of credit you’re using relative to your available credit limit, or your credit utilization ratio, can sink a credit score.

The lower the utilization rate, the higher your score will be. Ideally, first-time homebuyers would have a lot of credit available, with less than a third of it used.

Repairing damaged credit takes time — and money, if you owe more than lenders would prefer to see relative to your income. Begin the process at least 6 months before shopping for a home.

Evaluate assets and liabilities

So you don’t owe too much money and your payments are up to date. But how do you spend your money? Do you have piles of money left over every month, or are you on a shoestring budget?

A first-time homebuyer should have a good idea of what is owed and what is coming in.

“You should understand a little bit about monthly cash flow,” says Winesburg.

“If I were a first-time homebuyer and I wanted to do everything right, I would probably try to track my spending for a couple of months to see where my money was going,” he says.

Additionally, buyers should have an idea of how lenders will view their income, and that requires becoming familiar with the basics of mortgage lending.

For instance, some professionals, such as the self-employed or straight-commission salesperson, may have a more difficult time getting a loan than others.

According to Winesburg, the self-employed or independent contractor will need a solid 2 years’ earnings history to show.

Organize documents

When applying for mortgages, homebuyers must document income and taxes.

Typically, mortgage lenders will request 2 recent pay stubs, the previous 2 years’ W-2s, tax returns and the past 2 months of bank statements — every page, even the blank ones.

“Why it has to be every single last page, I don’t know. But that is what they want to see. I think they look for nonsufficient funds or odd money in or out,” says Floyd Walters, owner of BWA Mortgage in La Canada Flintridge, California.

Buying a home can take a long time, but knowing what you need and where to find it can save time when you’re ready.

Qualify yourself

Ideally, as a first-time homebuyer, you already know how much you can afford to spend before the mortgage lender tells you how much you qualify for. Bankrate’s “How much house can I afford?” calculator will help.

By calculating debt-to-income ratio and factoring in a down payment, you will have a good idea of what you can afford, both upfront and monthly.

Though there’s not a fixed debt-to-income ratio that lenders require, the old standard dictates that no more than 28 percent of your gross monthly income be devoted to housing costs. This percentage is called the front-end ratio.

The back-end ratio shows what portion of income covers all monthly debt obligations. Lenders prefer the back-end ratio to be 36 percent or less, but some borrowers get approved with back-end ratios of 45 percent or higher.

“Find out what you can afford and then you can back into everything else. We know the money you have available to put down, we know the monthly payment and we can solve (the equation) for the third variable — and that is the home price,” Winesburg says.

Figure out your down payment

It takes effort to scrape together the down payment.

There are programs that can assist buyers with qualifying incomes and situations.

“I’ve helped arrange assistance loans for $10,000, which are interest- and payment-free, and forgivable after 5 years. Although considered a loan, they’re more like grants. Other programs can provide up to $40,000 interest-free,” says Winesburg.

“Each state is different, but most of this money comes from the HOME Investment Partnership Program, which is a federal block grant to create affordable housing,” he says.

Finally, speak with mortgage lenders when you’re starting the process. Check with friends, co-workers and neighbors to find out which lenders they enjoyed working with and ask them questions about the process and what other steps first-time homebuyers should take.

 

By Sheyna Steiner • Bankrate.com

 

Taxpayers are constantly bombarded by the tax benefits of home ownership, but are often given misleading information including embellishment of benefits and other overlooked areas. I would like to take the time today to clear up some of the confusion around home ownership and its tax implications.

You are often told your mortgage payment will save you money at tax time, but it isn’t often explained how and when your payment will save you tax dollars. Your mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and mortgage insurance premiums during the year, as well as any points paid at the time you close on your loan, can all be claimed as an itemized deduction on Schedule A. Itemized deductions are an alternative to the standard deduction for most taxpayers. In order to benefit from itemized deductions, the total of all allowed expenses from your home, as with interest and property taxes, your charitable contributions, select state income or sales and use taxes, certain miscellaneous expenses and some of your medical expenses must exceed the standard deduction amount for your filing status. In 2013, the standard deduction for married filing joint taxpayers is $12,200, $8,950 for head of household filers, and $6,100 for single taxpayers. As you can see, for married taxpayers without a home, it can be difficult to have enough allowed itemized deductions to exceed the standard deduction.

The first year a home is purchased can be a difficult year to itemize (depending on the timing of the purchase) because, the later in the year you buy your house the less interest and real estate taxes you will pay, making your itemized deduction total lower than needed in many cases. So when you buy a home is as important to your tax return as the size of your mortgage loan and other costs when it comes to itemizing. Even if you are unable to itemize in the first year of purchase you most likely will be able to in the second and future years.

Another easily misunderstood tax benefit is claiming a credit for energy efficient home improvements. Yes, if you upgrade your hot water heater, re-insulate your home, add new windows, or even upgrade your central air conditioning to a more energy efficient model you may be able to claim an energy credit for the improvement. The Energy credit has a lifetime total credit maximum of $500. The credit is 30 percent of the cost of qualified energy efficient home improvements with other maximum limitations based on the type of improvement. Contact a tax professional or go to the IRS website before you purchase any potential energy credit item. A few minutes of advice can help you save up to $500 on your taxes.

You may have heard you can claim your closing costs as a deduction the year you buy your home. With the exception of any real estate taxes you prepay for the year, mortgage interest, points, and mortgage insurance premiums paid when you close on your home, there is generally no other deductions you can claim from the closing costs paid when you bought your home. However, those closing expenses you can’t deduct may help you reduce or eliminate any taxable gain if you sell your home in the future.

One of the largest tax breaks for a homeowner comes when selling your home. The tax laws allow you to exempt from taxes a gain of up to $250,000 ($500,000 if married filing jointly) when you sell your main home. Keep your closing papers in a safe place and any time you make an improvement keep a copy of the receipt and write what the improvements was on the receipt. You will need to combine many of the costs of buying and selling your home with the sales price and the cost of your improvements over the years, to determine your gain and then apply the exemption limit. While the cost of buying your home may not be deductible, they can certainly help reduce or even completely eliminate the taxes on your gain when you sell your home.

Buying a home is a very big life and tax return event. From being able to include mortgage interest expense, property taxes, and Private Mortgage Insurance and other deductions like charitable donations, medical expenses, and certain other miscellaneous expenses in itemized deductions to excluding from income a gain from a future home sale — buying a home can put more tax dollars in your pocket. Talking to a tax professional before and after you purchase or sell a home can help you be prepared to make the most of available tax breaks.

FROM: huffingtonpost.com/mark-steber/how-home-ownership-can-be

Don’t rouse the IRS or pay more taxes than necessary — know the score on each home tax deduction and credit.

FROM: houselogic.com/home-advice/taxes-incentives/common-tax-mistakes