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Murphy's
Law for Sellers
Murphy's
Law states that anything that can go
wrong will go wrong. Glitches in any
real estate transaction are inevitable.
If you are prepared, you won't be so
shocked when they do.
Author
Terri Murphy (no relation to Murphy's
Law) has some suggestions that may help:
1.
Understand That Your Home May Not Be
Worth What You Think: The biggest shock
most sellers face is what agents and
buyers think their home is worth.
Sometimes sellers can be pleasantly
surprised, but the reality is that
markets change, and home values rise and
fall. Many subjective factors
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such
as floor plan, condition,
updates and drive-up appeal
affect home values.
The truth is that buyers will
determine the worth of your
home, in this
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The
REALTOR® In Your Corner
IIf
you are buying a home with an federally insured
loan and were able to borrow up to $125,000, you
can thank a REALTOR®. The National Association
of REALTORS® (N.A.R.) lobbyists, among the most
powerful in the nation's capital, successfully
fought to have the borrowing ceiling raised from
$87,000 in 1997.
If you were able
to sell your home last year and keep up to
$250,000 of the money tax-free, again, you can
thank the NAR, which was instrumental in raising
your tax-free net from a one time gain of
$125,000 to giving you the ability to purchase
and occupy your home for up to two years, sell
the home and keep up to $250,000 tax-free, every
two years.
Do you like
deducting your mortgage interest rate off of
your federal income taxes? Once, again, Realtors
and their lobbyists are in your corner.
Legislators constantly propose the elimination
of the mortgage interest deduction, but the NAR
and its lobbyists beat it back on your behalf.
So you didn't know
that Realtors put money in your pocket? They do.
They are dedicated to protecting you - the home
owner, buyer and seller.
Realtors and the
NAR spends millions of dollars promoting home
ownership annually in promotional
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"Smart"
Home Improvements Require Smarter Home Owners
Creating
a home with brains not only makes your home more
efficient now, but also more valuable when it's
time to sell, provided you have the
technological aptitude to do the work or are
smart enough to know when to call in a pro.
As many as 10
million home owners will attempt digital
remodeling by 2003, according to the Yankee
Group, a Boston-based technology research firm.
Digital
remodeling includes technology-based home
improvements designed to transform a house into
a "smart home".
"Smart"
homes contain electronic devices and appliances
preprogrammed to automatically perform tasks
once triggered by a range of actions including
motion, sound, time, touch or temperature.
The dishwasher
calls for maintenance and the refrigerator
orders more eggs and ham at preset intervals,
for instance. Lights switch on when a sensor
registers your presence, much as a security
system sounds an alarm or calls the police when
it detects an intruder. The home theater screen
dims or brightens to compensate for changes in
lighting, much as the thermostat turns up the
heat when the room chills.
Unless you are a
cross between an electronics technician and an
architectural designer, consider hiring what's
called an electronic architect or someone
otherwise certified. He or she
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Why
Rising Interest Rates Aren't So Bad for Buyers
If
you are trying to buy a home, you are probably kicking
yourself for not locking in an interest rate before the
Federal Reserve Bank hiked short term interest rates by
50 basis points last month, but that's okay - you still
have a chance to get a good loan at a reasonable rate.
When you fail to get in
on a good deal, it's easy to grumble. Borrowers are
saying, "Ouch," and the housing market is
slowing slightly as a result. But you know what? The
economy is merely balancing back toward more normal
levels. It's hard to appreciate good news when it hits
you in the pocketbook, but there are reasons why higher
rates are a good thing for you as a buyer.
Due to the kill-joy tone
of the FED chairman Allan Greenspan, economic pundits
predict that interest rates will keep rising. The Labor
Department's low jobless rate data didn't help home
buyers either. A tight labor market could signal rising
inflation and the FED is watching that inflation doesn't
get a toehold.
Daily
News and Advice
June 2, 2000
Read about the events shaping the
Real Estate market today, find current interest
rates, or browse the extensive library of advice
and how-to articles written by some of the top
experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
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