If you are planning on selling your home, there are some simple things that you can do to drastically increase the amount of money you will receive from it. Remember that most people that will look at your home will also look at comparable homes in your neighborhood. Top real estate value can only be achieved for your home if it stands out from all the rest of the similar homes in the neighborhood.

Real Estate Value – The 60 Second And 60% Rule

A home has 60 seconds to make a lasting impression on the potential buyer, so make it a positive one. Experts agree that 40% of the buying decision is determined when the potential buyer first drives up and gets a glimpse of the house from the curb. Another 20% of the buying decision is made when the potential buyer first enters the house; in other words 60% of the decision to buy or not to buy the house has been made right after the prospective buyer enters the house. That should tell you that 60% of your time preparing the house for sale should be concentrated in the front of the house and in the area as you just enter the house

Most potential buyers are looking to get excellent value for real estate they invest in and are looking for an uncluttered home with a free-flowing floor plan, and bright, clean interior.

Real Estate Value – Tip Top Condition

Make sure you pay special attention to the front yard: cut and trim the grass, trim trees and shrubs, plant colorful flowers, and paint the exterior of the house, if needed.

Real Estate Value – Remove Clutter

It is recommended that you open up all tight traffic areas and remove some furniture from the home to make it look larger. Change the light bulbs to the maximum wattage allowed, and open all drapes, shutters, and shades. If you are going to repaint the interior of the house then use white, this gives the potential buyer a canvas to work with.

Real Estate Value – Appeal To The Buyer’s Senses

You must make sure there are no offensive odors in the house because nothing turns off a potential buyer like a bad smell. If you are going to have an open house, then turn off the TV, turn on some soft music, and make some fresh smelling cookies or bread.

Real Estate Value – Exposure

Pure mathematics suggest that, the more potential buyers that tour your home the better chance you have to sell it at top dollar. Make sure your marketing plan includes listing your home on the internet both locally and worldwide. Professional flyers and brochures distributed in the neighborhood is another excellent way to give your home exposure.

Real Estate Value – Don’t List Too Long

If your home has not sold in a reasonable length of time, then take it off the market. A house that stays on the market to long, goes stale, and then will sell for a lower price. It is better to let the market correct itself, then relist.

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Although it’s relatively easy to find  cheap homes in spain, UK residents should know that the cost of the house is only one aspect of affordable homes to buy in Spain. As it is at home, there will be everyday expenses that are put upon people that buy holiday homes in Spain. In this piece, we will make a comparison of some normal costs regarding ownership of Spanish homes. Although this type of comparison depends largely on what you are willing to spend and the area your Spanish holiday home is in, you can still profit from knowing, fundamentally, what to anticipate. 

The Expense of Taking Up Habitat in Spain

Usually, you can count on a cheap home is Spain being about 10% to 15% less on the average living costs than a home in the UK. As an example, you may pay £30 for a bag of groceries in the UK, and get the same amount of groceries for Euro 25 less in Spain. Housing is perhaps the biggest expense on your budget when looking for a bargain home in Spain. In accordance to the location, apartments begin at Euro  81,000 (£64,000), villas at Euro 169,000 (£134,000), studios at Euro 49,000 (£39,000), and townhouses at Euro 110,000 (£87,000). There’s good news on mortgage rates for homes in spain: typical rates are about 5.5%. Electricity and gas charges about the same as the UK. Water in Spain usually isn’t more then Euro 15 (£12) per month, but since many homes have pools, fountains and gardens, buyers should budget at least 4 times that amount. You will pay lower than Euro 250 (£198) yearly for taxes on holiday homes in Spain. 

Food Costs in Spain

When people are looking to obtain holiday homes in Spain, the cost of food items is possibly the second biggest expenditure. Although prices will vary regionally, a few median prices are presented below for comparison purposes only. Be sure to investigate food prices in the area where you’re planning to buy your holiday home in Spain. Usually, though, considering that you are cooking from scratch, grocery prices as a whole are about 2/3 the amount that they are in the UK. However, the costs will run the same as in the UK if you choose to use convenience or already packaged items for cooking.

{Meat - chicken - Euro 2.60 to Euro 4.00 (1 Euro  equals about .8 GBP)

Meat - pork chops - Euro 5.00 to Euro 6.00

Meat - lamb - Euro 8.00 - Euro 10.00

Cheese - Spanish - Euro 3.00 for about 250g

Cheese - Cheddar - Euro 6.00 for about 250g

Tea - Euro 2.00 to Euro 2.50

Milk - Euro 1.00 per liter

Frozen pizza - Euro 3.50

Vegetables - tomatoes - 80c per kilo

Vegetables - green peppers - Euro 1.80 per kilo

Vegetables - potatoes - 70c per kilo

Breakfast cereal - Euro 2.60 for about 400g

Wine - Spanish – approximately 1/2 the cost in the UK

Wine - French, Italian or Australian - slightly under in the UK}

If your choice is eating out, you should be prepared to pay around Euro 15.00 to Euro 20.00 for each person for dinner and for lunch—Euro 6.00 for each person. Unfortunately, though, takeout food is usually not accessible in Spain; so factor this into your food budget for your affordable home in Spain.

Vehicles in Spain

Also, people will normally have to get an automobile if they have vacation homes in Spain. Although an automobile costs more in Spain than it does in the UK, buying gas and maintaining the auto is cheaper. If you need car repairs, expect to pay Euro 25.00 to Euro 40.00 per hour and if parts for your car are not widely available in Spain, you’ll pay a premium for them as well. Road tax is inexpensive and insurance for your vehicle in Spain is reasonable if the car is registered in Spain. Note, though, that a car is really costly to insure in Spain when it is registered in the UK. 

All in all, when looking at the purchase price of homes in spain and considering subsidiary charges like taxes, food and automobile transportation, it’s possible for UK residents for find cheap accommodation in this friendly, sun-drenched land. When all is said and done, if contemplating the price of purchasing cheap homes in Spain, and thinking about extra costs like vehicle transportation, food and tax, there is a possibility of residents fro the UK to obtain cheap accommodation in this receptive, sun-soaked land.

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A few years back, I bought a rental and decided that my property taxes were too high. I paid $16,000 for the place (remember those prices?), but the county assessor had the property pegged at a market value of $18,400. Each spring the county had a day when one could appeal the assessment in person, so I made my case to one of the designated “judges.”

I brought the closing statement showing what I paid for the property and mentioned that I wasn’t related to the seller, and that he had been trying to sell the property for six months. The $16,000 I paid was clearly a fair market price. They immediately lowered the assessment and subsequent taxes, and the whole process took only a few minutes of my time. Occasionally it can be that easy.

It was a different story when my wife and I bought a house in Montana. We purchased it in 2002 from a bank for $17,500 (I have a history of buying cheap real estate), after it had been on the market a few months. According to the assessment it was worth $35,000 - exactly double what we paid for the home, and we were taxed accordingly - over $800 per year.

I gathered data on other sales in the neighborhood, showing that the value was not that high (the town was economically depressed). I sent this information with a copy of our closing statement and the opinion of our real estate agent to the appropriate agency of state government that handles appeals, also noting that we did not know the seller (nor even use their bank). But they wouldn’t budge on the assessment.

Apparently when figuring property taxes in Montana, they don’t consider value to be what people will actually pay for a home. Perhaps what they want to collect in taxes is the basis of the assessed value. Even after we fixed up the home and sold it for $28,000 I don’t think they lowered the assessment for the next owner. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do with this kind of dishonesty in government. Fortunately, they are more honest in most places, and if you have evidence that your property is assessed too high, you can get your property taxes lowered. A few tips follow.

Reducing Your Property Taxes

If you think you are paying too much in property taxes, go to the assessors office, and look at your “property card” or whatever they call the record that shows what is used to assess your home or other real estate. Make sure the information there is correct. Perhaps too many square feet of floor space are listed, or a garage that no longer exists is used in figuring the value. Make a note of any discrepancies that are causing a higher assessment. Measure the house, for example, or take photos to show mistakes on the form.

Also look at the assessed values of the properties around yours (this is public information in most states). If they are lower, see if you can determine why, or if yours is just too high - and take notes. Every state has their own way of recording this information, so you may need to ask for help deciphering the figures.

Get information about recent sales in your neighborhood to demonstrate the current value of your home. Do this with the help of a real estate agent, or at the county office where they keep property rolls (this might not be the assessor’s office). A real estate agent can tell you how to do a simple market analysis based on “comparable sales” to determine your property value.

In some states, the property tax appeals process allows for an appraisal. Since it will likely cost you $400 or more, be sure it will be accepted as part of the appeal’s process. You should also consider how much you will save in taxes before paying for an appraisal on your house or other real estate. You can also learn how to do your own appraisal to see if it will be worth paying for one. Bring everything you can to the appeals board or whoever handles the appeal, and be polite but determined.

One more way to reduce your property taxes: You may want to consider moving to an area where they are lower. In Canon City, Colorado, for example, we pay just $300 per year on our home, which is valued at about $67,000. That’s a tenth of the rate we paid in Montana - or a fifth of the “official rate” in any case.

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