Posted by Chase Craig on August 9, 2011 at 8:59 am
Trying For Sale By Owner?
Showing homes throughout the Treasure Valley, I come across a lot of For Sale By Owner signs and I often wonder; How long have they been on the market? Is their pricing competitive with the rest of the market? Why are they choosing to market their property For Sale By Owner?
Because I have many buyers in the Boise area looking to buy real estate, I make sure to go out of my way to call the for sale by owner’s that are in my buyers area of interest to see if the property would be a good fit for my clients. What I’ve noticed is that they don’t put the property in the best position to sell. Many times a FSBO (For Sale By Owner) seller is too emotionally involved in the property to price it properly. They almost always feel that their property is worth more than every other property in the area because they installed rain gutters, or opted for the gas range instead of the electric. While that may help a client choose their home over another, it’s not the reason they come out to see the property especially when you are priced $15,000 above market value.
The FSBO’s that I see selling and selling well are typically in areas that get heavy drive by traffic or have many active neighbors (55+ communities come to mind). If you are thinking of FSBO there are a couple of resources that I would like to point you to before you “dive” right in. I’m only pointing out the flaws in FSBO because let’s be honest, you want to know more about for sale by owner then just rainbows and butterfly’s.
FSBO Woes
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FSBO CEO uses a Realtor
Keep in mind, a Realtor will always need to put his money where his or her mouth is. They have capital invested in your property when they tell you they are going to sell it for a certain price (signs, lockboxes, flyers, advertising and of course time). If they don’t sell your property in the time you have agreed upon, you pay them nothing. If you decided to go the FSBO route, you could invest up to $1,000 in signage and contract information before you have the home sold.
Any questions about for sale by owner or Boise FSBO’s? Feel free to contact me or comment below.
Chase Craig
Boise Real Estate Agent
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Posted by Chase Craig on July 23, 2011 at 11:01 am
Boise Real Estate – Short Sales: When is it ok to short sale?
I’m often asked this question. First, a short sale is selling a home for less than what is owed on the mortgage. Banks realize that short sales are more beneficial financially than foreclosures. As a result, the short sale process is significantly easier today than it has ever been. But what situations warrant a short sale? Any time you owe more on a home than what it is worth and you cannot afford the payments, it is ok to short sale a home. It is always better to short sale than it is to foreclose. Certain situations even allow you to do so without being late on mortgage payments (divorce, death, loss of job etc.). In those situations you may even be able to buy immediately after the sale of your home. If you or someone you know has a question about their particular situation, feel free to have them call or e-mail me today.
The penalties for a short sale or a foreclosure are different and can be found here.
Chase Craig
Boise Real Estate Agent
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Posted by Chase Craig on June 24, 2011 at 8:39 am
3 Green Home Improvements that Pay Off
By: Karin Beuerlein
Published: February 16, 2011
Forget big savings on your energy bills if you make green home improvements. Instead, choose green retrofits and home improvements that offset rising energy prices.
Why have my green home improvements fallen flat?
Energy prices as a whole have gone up over the last decade, especially in certain regions of the country.
Although natural gas prices have dipped a bit since 2008 and electricity prices have stayed level, the trend line goes up for both from 2011 forward.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates an average annual increase in residential energy costs of 2.3% through 2035.
So…if energy cost projections hold, and assuming an average annual American energy bill of $2,200, you’ll pay 2.3% more each year (that’s $50 the first year) if you do nothing toreduce your consumption. Your bill will inch closer to $4,000 by the year 2035. Ouch.
3 energy saving retrofits that pay off
If the only reason you’re making retrofits is to manage energy costs, look for projects with maximum bang for the buck.
Rule of thumb: Try to beat the 2.3% annual average with green home improvements that reduce your energy consumption by 5% or more but have a modest initial investment. And don’t forget to ask whether your utility or state government offers rebates or tax credits for these improvements.
1. Seal and insulate ductwork that runs through unheated spaces—the attic, a crawl space, a garage. It’s not glamorous, but it can improve the efficiency of your heating system by 20%—a 5% bill reduction overall. If you hire an HVAC pro for this job, you’ll invest a few hundred dollars for labor and materials.
2. Buy a programmable thermostat. Is it possible you haven’t done this yet? For just $25 to $250, the you can save, on average, around 8% on energy bills simply by programming it properly.
3. Add attic insulation and seal air leaks. One of the best energy-saving improvements out there, because insulating and sealing your home can reduce your energy bills by 10%. Upgrading your attic insulation to the R-value recommended for your region costs anywhere from $.25 to $1 per square foot, including materials and labor; it’s less if you do it yourself.
But you won’t get the maximum savings if you don’t seal air leaks, so plan this as a combo job. Caulking and weather-stripping typically costs from $50 to $350, depending on the size of your house.
Karin Beuerlein in more than a decade of freelancing, has covered home improvement and green living topics extensively for HGTV.com, FineLiving.com, and FrontDoor.com. She and her husband started married life by remodeling the house they were living in. They still have both the marriage and the house, no small feat.
Chase Craig
Boise Real Estate Agent
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Posted by Chase Craig on June 22, 2011 at 8:33 am
Steam Shower: Make Your Life a Little Steamy
Install a home steam shower and feel the tension melt away every day.
Bring on the steam
You’ll need a steam generator that heats water over an electrical element, then pipes the steam into the shower. The generator is about the size of a microwave oven and, if you take a steam shower each day, costs only about $16 per year in added electricity, according to steam shower manufacturer Steam Planet. The generator is installed next to the shower or tucked away in a nearby closet.
Custom steam room
You can transform your existing shower into a steamy spa, or build a new steam room by wood-framing the area, installing waterproof drywall or cement backer board, and lining with tile. (You’ll likely need a permit—check your local building codes.)
The key: The shower must be completely sealed and waterproof. That means tiling the entire space, including the ceiling, and installing a tight-fitting glass door. Make sure the space is large enough for a bench, ideally 3×5 ft. If you’re tight on space, try a corner bench. (Cost: $7,000 to $10,000, including the steam generator.)
Prefabricated steam
A modular fiberglass steam shower is cheaper than a wood-framed shower, and can be installed in 1 to 5 days. The unit comes with a generator and flexible, braided lines to hook up to hot and cold water. If you’re really handy, install the unit yourself, or hire professionals for $500 to $1,000. Units range $1,000 (3×3 ft.) to $5,000 (6×3 ft. unit).
Use caution
Steam showers can adversely affect people with heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, pregnant women, young children, and the frail elderly. Kids five years old and older may take a steam shower under parental supervision.
Maintaining steam
Hot, damp areas are perfect incubators for mold and mildew. After using your steam shower, open the door to dry out your bathroom, and run the exhaust fan to suck out the steam.
Every few months, flush the unit to get rid of calcium deposits.
By: Caralee Adams, a veteran journalist. Her work as appeared in national publications, including Better Homes & Gardens, Parents, and The Washington Post.
Chase Craig
Boise Real Estate Agent
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Posted by Chase Craig on June 21, 2011 at 8:32 pm
7 Hot Home Improvement Trends that Make Your Home Work for You
Home improvement trends embrace energy efficiency, low maintenance exteriors, and double-duty space.
Trend #1: Maintenance-free siding
We continue to choose maintenance-free siding that lives as long as we do, but with a lot less upkeep. But more and more we’re opting for fiber-cement siding, one of the fastest-growing segments of the siding market. It’s a combination of cement, sand, and cellulosic fibers that looks like wood but won’t rot, combust, or succumb to termites and other wood-boring insects.
At $5 to $9 per sq. ft., installed, fiber-cement siding is more expensive than paint-grade wood, vinyl, and aluminum siding. It returns 80% of investment, the highest return of any upscale project on Remodeling magazine’s latest Cost vs. Value Report.
Maintenance is limited to a cleaning and some caulking each spring. Repaint every 7 to 15 years. Wood requires repainting every 4 to 7 years.
Trend #2: Convertible spaces
Forget “museum rooms” we use twice a year (dining rooms and living rooms) and embrace convertible spaces that change with our whims.
Foldaway walls turn a private study into an easy-flow party space. Walls can consist offancy, glass panels ($600 to $1,600 per linear ft., depending on the system); or they can be simple vinyl-covered accordions ($1,230 for 7 ft. by 10 ft.). PortablePartions.com sells walls on wheels ($775 for approximately 7 ft. by 7 ft.).
A Murphy bed pulls down from an armoire-looking wall unit and turns any room into a guest room. Prices, including installation and cabinetry, range from $2,000 (twin with main cabinet) to more than $5,000 (California king with main and side units). Just search online for sellers.
And don’t forget area rugs that easily define, and redefine, open spaces.
Trend #3: A laundry room of your own
Humankind advanced when the laundry room arose from the basement to a louvered closet on the second floor where clothes live. Now, we’re taking another step forward by granting washday a room of its own.
If you’re thinking of remodeling, turn a mudroom or extra bedroom into a dedicatedlaundry room big enough to house the washer and dryer, hang hand-washables, and store bulk boxes of detergent.
Look for spaces that already have plumbing hookups or are adjacent to rooms with running water to save on plumbing costs.
Trend #4: Souped-up kitchens
Although houses are trending smaller, kitchens are getting bigger, according to theAmerican Institute of Architects’ Home Design Trends Survey.
Kitchen remodels open the space, perhaps incorporating lonely dining rooms, and feature recycling centers, large pantries, and recharging stations.
Oversized and high-priced commercial appliances—did we ever fire up six burners at once?—are yielding to family-sized, mid-range models that recover at least one cabinet forstorage.
Since the entire family now helps prepare dinner (in your dreams), double prep sinks have evolved into dual-prep islands with lots of counter space and pull-out drawers.
Trend #5: Energy diets
We’re wrestling with an energy disorder: We’re binging on electronics—cell phones, iPads, Blackberries, laptops–then crash dieting by installing LED fixtures and turning the thermostat to 68 degrees.
Are we ahead of the energy game? Only the energy monitors and meters know for sure.
These new tracking devices can gauge electricity usage of individual electronics ($20 to $30) or monitor whole house energy ($100 to $250). The TED 5000 Energy Monitor ($240) supplies real-time feedback that you can view remotely and graph by the second, minute, hour, day, and month.
Trend #6: Love that storage
As we bow to the new god of declutter, storage has become the holy grail.
We’re not talking about more baskets we can trip over in the night; we’re imagining and discovering built-in storage in unlikely spaces–under stairs, over doors, beneath floors.
Under-appreciated nooks that once displayed antique desks are growing into built-ins for books and collections. Slap on some doors, and you can hide office supplies and buckets of Legos.
Giant master suites, with floor space to land a 747, are being divided to conquer clutter with more walk-in closets.
Trend #7: Home offices come out of the closet
Flexible work schedules, mobile communications, and entrepreneurial zeal are relocating us from the office downtown to home.
Laptops and wireless connections let us telecommute from anywhere in the house, but we still want a dedicated space (preferably with a door) for files, supplies, and printers.
Spare bedrooms are becoming home offices and family room niches are morphing into working nooks. After a weekend of de-cluttering, basements and attics are reborn as work centers.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article on home improvement trends courtesy of houselogic.com
Chase Craig
Boise Real Estate Agent
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