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Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Consider The Market Before Selling Your Home

How Can a Comparative Market Analysis Help You?
To get the most accurate estimate of how much you should list your property for, your real estate agent can provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). A CMA is an informal estimate of market value, based on sales of comparable properties in your area. It generally takes into account various aspects of your home, including size, features and annual costs. Reviewing comparable homes that have sold within the past year, along with the listing or asking price on current homes for sale, should help you determine a fair sale price for your property.

CMAs can include homes that are currently for sale and those which have recently sold. They can cover areas as narrow as one or two streets surrounding your home, or as broad as an entire subdivision.

Most real estate agents will give you a CMA for free, hoping you'll list your home with them. Each CMA contains valuable information on several recent sales, including:

• How long each property stayed on the market

• How close the sale price was to the asking price

• Notes comparing each home to yours, i.e.; number of bedrooms and baths, approximate square footage, sizes of major rooms, amenities such as fireplaces and pools, age of the home, property taxes and more.

The CMA is an informative selling tool, but like any tool, it doesn't work by itself. For this reason, the CMA will always need to be interpreted by a professional or with complete objectivity by the seller or buyer.

Remember, too, that the CMA is also a buying tool; it is considered just as seriously by the buyer and his or her agent. As you and your agent are going to use the CMA to ask the highest possible price for your home, the buyer is going to use it to find reasons to either choose or eliminate your home, and to arrive at the lowest price possible.

Important Questions to Ask an Agent Before Listing Your Home for Sale

• Do you have an active real estate license in good standing?

• How long have you been licensed as an agent?

• Why do you think I should list with you?

• What professional designations do you hold?

• What party will you represent -- the buyer or the seller?

• What services do you offer?

• Do you belong to an online homebuyer's search service?

• Have you listed or sold in my neighborhood lately?

• How will you price my home?

• How will you market my home?

• How will you keep in contact with me during the selling process, and how often?

• What is your fee?

• Will you cooperate with buyers' brokers?

• What share of commission will you offer a cooperating broker who finds the buyer?

• What awards have you won?


Important Questions to Ask Yourself About the Agent

• Is the agent a good listener?

• Is the agent accessible?

• Is the agent part-time or full-time?

• Is the agent cooperative and enthusiastic, or rude and arrogant?

• Do you think you can have a good working relationship with the agent?

Sellers: Protect yourself and your home

Never allow random house-hunters into your home unescorted. A serious buyer will be working with a real estate professional or should be willing to contact your agent to schedule an appointment. Also, always lock your valuables away before an open house - the agent onsite will be monitoring traffic, but it's impossible to be everywhere at all times.

Painting your Home

Essentials of Painting


Painting interior walls is relatively easy and cheap way to transform the rooms of your home while protecting overall resale value. Aside from adding personality and drama, re-painting protects the surface from moisture and fading. Here are a few things to know before you start planning your DIY masterpiece.

Sheen/Luster - A paint's "sheen" classifies its degree of shine. Flat paint is the dullest of the sheens and is best uses in low activity areas such as hallways and dining rooms, or on ceilings. Eggshell (sometimes "low-luster") has more shine that flat and is easier to wash. Eggshell finishes are appropriate for bedrooms and living rooms. Semigloss and glossy sheens reflect light for a brighter look. Both are durable and easy to wash, although glossy sheens will highlight any imperfections on a wall or surface. Semigloss sheens finishes are good choices for bathrooms and kitchens, while glossy finishes are often reserved for trim, railings, cabinetry and doors.

Quality - While it may be tempting to save money by buying cheaper paint, you will likely end up paying for it in the long run. High quality paint has higher pigment levels and a higher percentage of titanium dioxide, which increases coverage ability and improves durability. Their heavier bodies will go on smoother with less splattering and fewer applications, and will resist fading over time.

Color - Darker hues are known to add interest or warmth to a room, while lighter colors can open up a room and make it seem more spacious. Painting one wall with a rich color can add new drama to the space. In terms of durability, colors such as white, brown tend to fade less than brighter greens, yellows and blues.

Testing - Paint chips and samples can help you whittle down color options, but the best test of a paint color is to see the hue on the intended surface during different lighting conditions. Purchase quart or sample sizes of your top paint choices to get the best feel for the paint's affect on its surroundings.

Amount - 1 gallon of paint will typically cover 350 square feet of surface. Multiply the width of your walls by the height of the room to determine the total square footage you need to cover. Some manufacturers provide coverage calculators that will help you determine how many gallons of paint you will need.

Preparation - Paint adheres best to clean, uniform walls. Scrape clear any flaking paint and spackle in holes and cracks. Wash walls with a trisodium phosphate solution. Use plenty of painter's tape on baseboards, moldings and windowpanes. Applying a primer will conceal stains and ensure uniform color and absorption.

Equipment - Latex paints are best used with nylon brushes (or rollers), while natural brushes 9or rollers) work best for oil-based paint. 3-4 inch wall brushes work well on large, flat surfaces. Angled sash brushes are ideal for detailed areas, and trim brushes are perfect for doors and window frames. Paint rollers work well on rough or textured surfaces. The rougher the surface, the longer the roller nap should be.

What might happen after Foreclosure??

If you think after losing your house in a foreclosure or short sale you are out of financial hurdles then you are wrong. Many of you must be wondering what exactly is Short Sale. A “short Sale" is a transaction where the sale price is insufficient to pay the total of all liens and costs of sale and where the seller doesn’t bring sufficient liquid assets to the closing to cure all deficiencies.

According to CNN, mortgage lenders can still chase homeowners even after foreclosure if there's a difference between what they owed on their mortgage and what the bank could sell it for at auction. And these "deficiency judgments" are ticking time bombs that can explode years after borrowers lose their homes. It can happen to homeowners who got their home appraised for less that its actual value. There are people who got checks two years later after their foreclosure from their lien holders. In some cases people had to declare themselves as bankrupt simply because they did not have the money to pay to the lien holders.

Will they chase you?

Banks might pursue deficiency judgments depending on many factors, including in which state the borrower lives in and whether there is a second mortgage or other liens on the property. But if borrowers ignore the possibility of deficiencies, it could haunt them."Once they have a judgment, they can pursue you anywhere," said Richard Zaretsky, a board-certified real estate attorney in West Palm Beach, Fl. "They can ask for financial records, have your wages garnished and, if you fail to respond, a judge can put you in jail." Lenders may release property liens in order to facilitate short sales without releasing borrowers from their obligations to pay under the promissory notes. The secured debt can convert to an unsecured one after the sale. The scariest part is that judgments don’t have to be obtained immediately. Lenders or collection agency can wait until the debtors have recovered financially before they swoop in. Once the court grants a judgment, the lender has 20 years there to collect, with interest.

What you can do?

The best option for you as a homeowner is to keep your property. As the mortgage rates are record low at this time of the year refinancing your property can be a good option too. Another option is to downsize yourself that means to rent your property and use that money to pay your mortgage. You can then find an affordable rental home for yourself too. If your financial situation worsens, you can file for bankruptcy.

For the buyers buying a foreclosed property ask the lender to release you from any further obligation. Because in many scenarios to many borrowers may not be aware that they have to ask for release. Buyers have to take in consideration that short sales typically take longer than transactions not requiring lien holder’s approvals. On Short sales buyers also have to note that typically lien holders will not allow any seller concessions for repairs etc.