Harrisonblog

If you own your own home, you know that there is always a to-do list of home improvements, whether it is of small projects like cleaning the windows or painting baseboards, or of large projects like building a deck or remodeling your master bath. In any case, many homeowners are now rolling up their sleeves and doing projects at home by themselves. It saves a load of cash, allows the work to get finished on your terms, and gives you a sense of pride when its all said and done.

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Read up on the particular project you would like to accomplish. If you’ve never refinished hardwood floors, you’ll want to research the ins and outs of that topic!
2. Purchase (or borrow!) the right tools for the job. Using the right tools will make your job a whole lot easier, and if you borrow from a friend or neighbor, that person will likely give you some advice on how best to go about your project… and might even lend a hand!
3. Go to a free workshop at Home Depot, Lowes, or the like. The folks that teach these mini-classes have the experience and expertise to get you started. And they are always available to answer questions along the way.
4. Pick the brains of your friends and neighbors. Have they worked on a project like this? You’d be surprised how many people you know that have worked on their own home improvement projects.
5. Take your time and do it right. Remember, a lot about owning a home and improving it is to make it desirable to those who will be looking to buy when you are looking to sell. Adding a bathroom might be a great idea, but if it is in a weird location in the home, it might deter future buyers. Just think, “Would I want to buy this home if I were buying again?”
6. Get ideas from showrooms, friends’ homes, magazines or online photo galleries. It will get your creative juices flowing and you’ll likely be able to find some sort of inspiration for your project.
7. Come up with a plan and a budget. It is really easy to have your project get away from you. Make sure you stay on task (no one likes an unfinished project!) and stick to your budget. While you are planning, you will want to see how much tools and supplies are going to cost you so you can come up with a reasonable budget — and to determine whether or not you can actually afford to finish the project!
8. Finally, take before and after photos of your project. You can use these for motivation to move on to the next project, to show your friends what you’ve done (it doesn’t hurt to gloat sometimes, right?), and to show future buyers when you sell your home. It will show that you have added value to the property.

Have you worked on a DIY project? How did it turn out? What was it? Do you have any more tips for getting started… and finishing? Let us know!

We, The Harrisonburg Homes Team, offers the best customized marketing plans for our home sellers in this area. And as if that wasn’t enough — we do like to stay ahead of the curve, you know — our brokerage, Kline May Realty, has given us even more marketing ammo. We are now able to offer our seller clients professional photographs for their listings. They are crisp photos with great lighting and fabulous angles. Included in each package are outdoor shots, indoor shots, and close-up shots of your most elegant features. We are really excited about this!

We’ve said it before: photos are very important when marketing a home. Buyers want visuals of the home before they look at it. If the photos aren’t impressive, they likely won’t want to check out the property. It is simple… good photos get buyers in the door!

To give you an idea of what these photographs look like:

Note: These photos are of two of our current listings. Click these links for more photos and details: 9040 East Timber Ridge Road (photos 1 and 3 above), and 163 East View Street (photos 2 and 4 above).

A black bear is taking a nap in a tree on Sandstone Lane in Bridgewater right now. Amazing! As he tries to sleep, a small crowd gathers and some folks snap some photos while catching up with neighbors and friends.

We couldn’t resist sharing a photo with you, too.

In previous jobs, I’ve been an analyst and worked a lot with databases and statistical research. In other words, I like numbers. So for all of our faithful readers who also like the numbers game, here is a short list of some interesting facts about our current real estate market. (Note: all of this data comes from the local MLS as of 6/23/09.)

CITY OF HARRISONBURG

• 161: Active residential listings — single family homes
• 175: Active residential listings — townhomes

• 46: Under Contract residential listings

• 179: Active residential listings priced < $200,000
• 137: Active residential listings priced $200,000 =< $400,000
• 20: Active residential listings priced > $400,000

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY (not including Massanutten)

• 442: Active residential listings — single family homes
• 96: Active residential listings — townhomes

• 122: Under Contract residential listings

• 187: Active residential listings priced < $200,000
• 239: Active residential listings priced $200,000 =< $400,000
• 112: Active residential listings priced > $400,000

The majority of homes in Harrisonburg are priced less than $200,000, while Rockingham County’s listings are in the $200,000 to $400,000 range. This is typical because homes in the county usually have a bit more land accompanying them. This data also tells us that the real estate market is not stagnant. We’re still moving along with lots of homes under contract!

Notice something different about the right side of our blog? We’ve added a new section called “Find Us Elsewhere,” which allows our faithful readers to:

• Follow us on Twitter
• Become a fan of our team on Facebook
• Promote our blog on Technorati
• Link to our Zillow profile — and yes, we do like to think of ourselves as local experts!

We’ll also be adding some more soon… like to our Active Rain profile and our Trulia profile. So why not check us out in other realms of the web. This new addition is figure flattering, don’t you think?

With so many foreclosures occurring these days (although, truthfully, not many around Harrisonburg compared to the rest of the country!), renters can rest a bit easier knowing that a new law has been put into effect to protect them. On May 20th, the government passed a law stating that renters must receive 90-days notice prior to being evicted due to foreclosure on their current rental home. Additionally, renters must be allowed to stay in the home until their lease is up, with two exceptions:

1. The new owner wants to occupy the property as a personal residence, and
2. There is no month-to-month lease, or there is a lease but state law allows the lease to be terminated at any time upon notice.

According to the National Associations of REALTORS, “The protections of this law apply only to “bona fide” tenants — who have a written contract, the lease was the result of an arms-length transaction, and the rent is not substantially less than the fair market rent for the property. Under any conditions, tenants may still be evicted if they violate the lease terms.”

I just read an incredible article entitled “Why Home Prices May Keep Falling” published by the New York Times. It describes, in pretty good detail, why home prices fall, and fall slowly. The most interesting part of the article is when the author describes the points of view held by a buyer in a market like this, and a seller in a market like this.

Imagine a young couple now renting an apartment. A few years ago, they were toying with the idea of buying a house, but seeing unemployment all around them and the turmoil in the housing market, they have changed their thinking: they have decided to remain renters. They may not revisit that decision for some years. It is settled in their minds for now.

On the other hand, an elderly couple who during the boom were holding out against selling their home and moving to a continuing-care retirement community have decided that it’s finally the time to do so. It may take them a year or two to sort through a lifetime of belongings and prepare for the move, but they may never revisit their decision again.

As a result, we will have a seller and no buyer, and there will be that much less demand relative to supply — and one more reason that prices may continue to fall, or stagnate, in 2010 or 2011.

All of these people could be made to change their plans if a sharp improvement in the economy got their attention. The young couple could change their minds and decide to buy next year, and the elderly couple could decide to further postpone their selling. That would leave us with a buyer and no seller, providing an upward kick to the market price.

A lot of it comes down to how people think, and what they think of their specific situation in this specific economy. Once a buyer has made a decision, that buyer will likely stick by his decision until some major shift in the economy occurs. Same for sellers.

Home prices fall slowly (and rise slowly) because of reactions to these types of changes. It makes complete sense. Prices and interest rates start to drop, so buyers start looking for a new place, and sellers decide to sell before its “too late” and also so they can “move up” in a more cost effective way.

Now the question remains… when are home prices going to rise again? The answer: only time will tell.

Renting-to-own is an option that many have been considering lately, especially with the economy the way it is. So, what are the pros and cons of this option? Is it a good choice for you?

These deals, also called rent-to-own and lease-option, usually require buyers to pay extra rents each month plus up-front fees of about 5% of the purchase price. The regular rent then goes in owner’s pocket (presumably to pay the mortgage), but the additional payments are used to buy down the price of the home. [Source: CNNMoney.com]

PROS

• Renting-to-own is not as big of a commitment as purchasing a home up front. Typically, leases run for at least a year.
• It allows folks to “try out” different homes in different neighborhoods to find out which one will suit them best.
• It also allows for buyers to build up some good credit and a down payment while they are in the rental period.
• If the buyers rent a home and end up closing on the purchase deal, they have likely already built up some equity in the home. Many sellers will have a contract stating that the buyers will put a specific amount of money toward their purchase per month. Once the deal is closed, the buyers will already have that built in.

CONS

• You need a good contract and agreement between both buyer and seller.
• If the buyers fall behind on payments, they have little protection. Hence, they could get kicked out of the home.
• If the buyers cannot get financing by the time the rental period is over, they will have to forfeit all the money they have put toward the home.
• Locking in a total purchase price at the beginning of the agreement could turn out to be a bad deal in the end if home prices fall.
• Some sellers may face foreclosure during the rental period, so the buyers may face eviction and other nasty problems along the way.

If you have any questions about purchasing a home, or home that are currently offered as rent-to-own, let us know! We’re happy to help.

A lot of chit-chat has been darting back and forth on the web about whether or not folks can actually use the new $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit for a down payment. Well, the facts are in! If you qualify for the tax credit [click here to read up on qualifications for this credit] and put 3.5% down on the property with an FHA loan, you can use the tax credit towards your down payment.

In other words, you’ll need equity in the house to participate. This won’t be a zero-down plan, with one exception: If you obtain your FHA loan through one of the approximately 10 state housing agency “tax credit monetization” programs, you’ll be allowed to pay for your entire down payment with the help of a bridge loan provided by the agency. Those bridge loans generally are low-interest or no-interest, short-term second liens secured by the property, and convert into second mortgages if they are not paid off with proceeds of the $8,000 tax credit.

For FHA lender-supplied cash advances, you’ll be able to use the $8,000 credit - or whatever size credit you qualify to receive - for settlement fees, escrow charges, higher down payments or to “buy down” your interest rate to cut monthly payments.

To read further about this hot topic, click here. (You can also search Google News for “tax credit for down payment” and find a plethora of good recent information on this topic!)