Friday, October 31, 2014
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Scary places to travel to for Halloween
Halloween is just around the corner. Check out some of the spookiest places—from haunted houses to ghost towns.
Stanley Hotel–Estes Park, Colorado
You might actually wonder what went bump in the night if you opt to stay at the Stanley Hotel.There have been numerous reports of apparitions and otherworldly occurrences throughout the hotel. And Stephen King famously stayed here, which inspired his novel The Shining.
Eastern State Penitentiary–Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The cellblocks at Eastern State Penitentiary once held such renowned criminals as Al Capone and Willie Sutton. Throughout October, the gothic revival building is transformed into Terror Behind the Walls, a haunted house so terrifying that it will feel as if there's no escape.Bodie, California
A booming mine town in the late 1800s that boasted more than 10,000 people and 65 saloons, Bodie is now best known for its preserved state as a ghost town. Stroll through this creepy shell of a settlement, filled with empty buildings and eerie silence.Dead Acres–Columbus, Ohio
Sick and twisted, this extreme haunted house uses every trick in the book—chainsaws, blood, screaming victims—to make your visit as creepy and hair-raising as possible.Fright Fest–Across North America
From San Antonio to New Jersey, 13 of the Six Flags theme parks turn into Fright Fest every weekend during October. Ordinary roller coasters and adventures turn into chilling rides where monsters and zombies are waiting at every twist and turn.Halloween Horror Nights–Hollywood And Orlando
Just try to hold onto your tongue as you experience real life scenes from The Walking Dead, Alien vs. Predator, From Dusk Till Dawn and more. The big production is all part of Universal Studios' annual Halloween Horror Nights, staged on select dates throughout October.Tombstone, Arizona
Perhaps it's the name of the town that drove people away. Or, maybe it's because the silver finally dried up. Regardless, the city gives you a peek into America's Old West past and lets you imagine the battles that the famed Wyatt Earp and his brothers had with outlaw cowboys, including the notorious Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
15 Easy Ways to Increase Your Home’s Value
You’re finally ready to put your home on the market, but want to ensure you get top dollar. Are there any easy fixes that can increase your asking price without breaking your budget? Here are some tips, ranging from free to under $1,000. Happy selling!1. Invite a REALTOR® over to give you suggestions on how you might increase the value of your home. REALTORS® will often do this as a courtesy, and many can offer great ideas for low-cost upgrades based on their day-to-day experiences.
2. Get an inspection to make sure you won’t be blindsided by hidden problems once your home’s on the market. Some small problems can cost a lot if they’re ignored for too long. So be proactive and see what your home needs to be in top condition.
3. Get an energy audit to see how you can improve the efficiency of your home. Many utility companies do energy audits as a free service, and figuring out how to make your home more efficient can be a great marketing tool when you decide to sell.
4. Paint! Applying fresh coats of paint to every room is relatively low cost, but can be time consuming, which is why many people decide to forego this project. But take the time if you can, because it will pay off. And remember, neutral colors are best because they appeal to most everyone.
5. Plant a tree, or two. Even if you plan on selling your home in a week, planting trees is always a good investment in your home. If the tree has time to mature, and provides shade to your home, it can cut down energy cooling costs as well, sometimes by as much as 40 percent!
6. Use native plants to increase your curb appeal and save money on water. Find out what grows naturally in your region and showcase those plants in the front of your home. Saving water is a great benefit to new homeowners, and planting native plants is an easy way to “go green.”7. Install a water filtration system in your kitchen. The cost to install these is fairly low, but is one of those small details that home buyers love.
8. Remove your popcorn ceiling. This sounds expensive, but scraping away the popcorn texture from your 1970s ceiling is actually a fairly inexpensive DIY project. Just visit your hardware store for advice, then start scraping.
9. Hire a lawn service company to cut your lawn and trim your hedges. Having this task professionally done before listing your home can go a long way towards improving curb appeal.
10. Hire a cleaning service to make the inside spotless. Again, this is a low cost way to make a great first impression.
11. Rent a storage unit. One way to really open up the space in your home is to rent a storage unit and put half your furniture in it for safe keeping. The relative emptiness of the home is appealing to buyers because it gives the impression of more space.
12. Small upgrades in the bathroom and kitchen can improve a buyer’s first impression. Change out the knobs on the cabinets. Install updated lighting fixtures. Put in a new faucet.
13. Replace worn carpets or rugs. Area rugs are fairly cheap to upgrade. Replacing carpet with wood floors, or discovering the wood floor underneath, is ideal but may not be cost-effective for you. Do what you can to improve flooring. At a minimum, consider getting the carpets professionally cleaned.
14. Get a tankless water heater. Today’s home buyers are looking for eco-friendly details that will save them money long term. Upgrading your standard water heater with a tankless version is a fairly low cost way to improve the efficiency of your home, and help the earth too!
15. Upgrade appliances. If you’re able to upgrade any of your appliances it will increase the value of your home. Look for Energy Star-rated appliances so you can show potential buyers another way this home will save them money in the long run.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Determining Your Home's Value
Appraisals and CMAs
Appraisals are primarily used to protect the lender's interest in the property. Just like lenders can be hesitant to issue a mortgage to credit-risky borrowers, they don't like to underwrite properties for more than they're worth. Appraisals also are used when other factors have made it difficult to assess your property's value, such as a lack of real estate activity in your area.
REALTORS® stress the importance of understanding that an appraisal is just the opinion of a trained professional: Five different appraisers could attach five different price tags to your home. Appraisals are based on past sales data, the location of the home, the size of the lot and the condition of the home. If the buyer's mortgage is insured through the FHA, the appraiser must disclose potential problems relating to the physical condition of the home; there are no similar stipulations for non-FHA mortgages.
Your REALTOR® may recommend an appraiser for your home. Also, the Appraisal Subcommittee of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council offers a member directory on its Web site. You can check the status of California appraisers? licenses through the Office of Real Estate Appraisers.
To determine an accurate measure of what your home is worth, REALTORS® can supply a comparative market analysis (CMA), which provides information on recent selling prices of similar properties in the same market. With a CMA, you can monitor the closing price of specific house types in certain areas (e.g., a condominium in a metropolitan area). Again, consult your REALTOR® if you're interested in learning more about a CMA.
Setting The Price
In establishing the listing price for your home, you need to strike a delicate balance between a figure that will scare off potential buyers and a low price that doesn't represent your home's worth. Buyers will compare your home's price with other properties on the market. Therefore, you should use a CMA to assess what consumers are paying for similar homes. CMAs also include information about area homes that failed to sell in recent months along with their corresponding list prices. Your REALTOR® can assist you in obtaining and analyzing that information.
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® suggests some additional steps to help you set your list price. After analyzing sales data, conduct some market research on your own. Attend an open house or two and make an impartial assessment of how those homes compare to yours in terms of size, location, amenities and condition.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Deciding to sell
You've probably already considered your personal reasons for selling. Now you need to take into account the other factors involved, such as market conditions, your property's value and tax implications.
Unless you're locked into selling your home (e.g., you've already accepted a job offer in another city), it's a good idea to look at the whole picture before deciding to sell.
Assessing Market Conditions
There's a rule of thumb to keep in mind when deciding to sell your home: Your home is only worth what a qualified buyer is willing to pay at the time it's on the market. The current real estate market fluctuates based on supply and demand, interest rates, general economic conditions, and other factors. The same house may sell for more or less under a different economy. Your REALTOR® can inform you of the going price for homes in your area at the current time; this data is included in a comparative market analysis (link to Appraisals and CMAs).
Tax Implications of Selling
There are many dynamics that can affect your tax liability upon selling your home. These issues include whether you purchased the home or inherited it, if you used your home for business or rental purposes, costs associated with selling your home, and any home improvements and additions that you've undertaken.
The Federal Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 provides capital gains tax exclusions of up to $500,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly and $250,000 for single taxpayers or married taxpayers filing separately. Current capitol gains rates are 20 percent for those in upper tax brackets and 10 percent for those in lower tax brackets. Overall capital gains rates have been lowered even further -- to 18 percent and 8 percent respectively -- for assets acquired after December 31, 2000, and held five years or more.
To qualify for this tax break, you must have used the home as your primary residence for at least two of the prior five years; these two years don't have to be consecutive. If you relocate for your job but don't meet the requirement, you may be allowed to take a capital gains exclusion proportionate to your circumstances. This exclusion is not a one-time benefit; you may take advantage of it once every two years as long as you meet the qualifications.
The tax rules differ when you sell a home that you've inherited. If you sell the inherited home for a profit, you're required to pay federal and state taxes on the gain. If you keep the house as a second residence and/or eventually move into it after renting it to tenants, you may take the $250,000/$500,000 capital gains tax exclusion if you meet the requirements. When you're deciding what to do with inherited property, you should consider the current estate tax laws and basis practices.
Beyond these general rules, it's wise to discuss your home's sale with a tax professional who can advise you on tax benefits in more detail.
Timing Your Decision to Sell
Because most sellers finance a new home purchase with the sale of their present home, they usually put their homes on the market before they begin their search for a new home. Learning the price you can expect from the sale often sets the pricing parameters for your new home search.
Obviously, it's not wise to wait until the sale on your property closes completely before beginning to look for your new home. Timing your search properly with the buyers' transaction can make the difference between having the available funds to buy a new home and cutting down on the interim period between homes.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
Survey: 1 in 3 Buyers Would Bid Above Asking Price
One in 3 buyers are willing to bid higher than a home’s asking price, according to a survey conducted by Trulia in partnership with Harris Interactive.
That was just one of several other findings of the survey that appear to show that homebuyers are feeling the squeeze of market conditions that are significantly altered from those of a year ago. At the same time, they capture improved sentiment towards the housing market.
Today’s tight home inventory appears to be pushing some buyers to use aggressive tactics to beat out competing buyers, the survey found. In addition to a third of buyers being willing to make above-market offers, 1 in 4 said that they would offer to pay a seller’s closing costs.
“Tight inventory means slim pickings for buyers. Even though inventory is starting to expand, and rising home prices should bring more for-sale homes onto the market, people who actually want to buy within the next year are feeling the pressure of competing buyers and limited inventory,” wrote Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko in blog post about the survey.
Also seemingly a symptom of today’s limited housing stock, homebuyers who plan to buy within the next year said that finding a home that they like is their biggest worry.
And highlighting two other defining characteristics of today’s market, consumers who said they might buy someday indicated that their two greatest fears were that mortgage rates and home prices would rise further.
But in a sign that people’s attitudes towards homeownership have recovered significantly since the downturn, 60 percent of respondents said that they thought homeownership is one of the best long-term investments they could make, up from 47 percent two years ago.
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