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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br> Home foreclosure: What is it?

The banks lend money to you for the purchase of your home and both you and the bank entered into an agreement for this loan as per which you have to pay certain amount of money every month to your banker as a repayment to your loan to the bank. Basically foreclosure would take place if you were not making payments on your mortgage and the seller of the home or lender of your mortgage was forced to sell the house in order to receive the money owed for your mortgage.

Foreclosure is a very common problem, as many people go into the home buying process thinking that they will be fine, only to find out one they are actually in it that they have so many other bills or bought a house that was too expensive and they are simply unable to make their mortgage payments

Of course no one wants to have their home taken away from them, not only for sentimental reasons but also because you will be in a lot of financial trouble and have to go to the effort of finding a new home…so many problems, which is why it is important that you make sure you do not have foreclosure put onto you.

Tips

May be you could avoid your home foreclosure if you follow the advice given here. For one, you always need to budget. A budget is nothing but a plan of expected income and expenditure over a specified period and it is necessary for you to prepare the income both you and your partner makes per month and also the bills you have to pay during the month.

The objective of preparing your budget is to monitor the expenditures against income and to facilitate this, you must make a list of expenditure items in the descending order of their value; this exercise will indicate the high, medium and low value items of your expenditure and then you could decide the expenses that are essential as well as nonessential. For instance you may have bills that you are paying which could be held off for a bit or even eliminated altogether. 

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You may not realize it, but the real estate investor who is typically called a slumlord is providing a needed service. Though there are those who are truly taking advantage of people, many who are given this ignoble title are simply providing affordable housing. If a family rents an ugly house, which needs paint and has a dirt driveway, it is a safe bet that they do so because it is the best thing they can afford at the time. If it was not available they would be in worse housing or in a worse financial situation because of higher rent. It is condescending to assume that people are too ignorant to see what their best option is just because they have a low income.

From the perspective of a real estate investor who wants a decent return, ugly homes are an opportunity. Generally unwanted by home owners, they sell for less. They also rent for less, but not too much less, and so usually provide more cash flow than “nice” rentals. This makes sense, since the houses will need more maintenance and rent collection will be more trouble on average (lower income makes it difficult for renters to budget for emergencies AND the monthly rent). If the average return was not higher, not even the most generous investors would want to buy or build these properties.

Looking at the whole picture you can see that an ugly house is an opportunity for a renter and an investor. With that in mind, here are three guidelines for investing in and operating these rentals. In other words, this is how to be a good slumlord, if that is what they call you.

1. Put safety first

The whole idea of high-cash-flow low-income rentals is to keep your costs down so you can rent low enough for the market and still make a decent profit by providing this service. As a result, you will never put a $800 refrigerator into these homes. You’ll probably buy used ones. On the other hand, you should never neglect those things which are necessary to keep the home safe. There is a big difference between having a dusty yard and a broken set of steps.

This isn’t just a financial matter. Of course you face lawsuits if your negligence leads to injury - as you should. But this is a matter of human decency as well. Being a wise investor does not exclude being a decent person nor does it excuse knowingly endangering your tenants. Let your rentals be ugly if the savings from that make them affordable for the renters and profitable for you. But don’t let them be unsafe.

2. Be open and honest with tenants

Don’t pretend that you have something more than you do. If you have a dump, prospective tenants can see that. Openly admit it and let them know that the condition of the home is why the rent is low.

Don’t pretend you’re not making money. In fact, let them know that a profit is your goal, and that if and when they can pay more, you’re willing to raise the rent and make improvements. Show some respect. They see what they have, and they are only living there until they can afford a better place.

3. Prepare for the unexpected

It may seem that you cannot prepare for what you cannot predict, but this isn’t true. Whatever the specifics are, there will be surprises, and the easiest way to be ready for them is to have some money set aside in a contingency account. When I had a mobile home for a rental, the furnace died one day while I was at work: $1,400. Another time the tenants had to choose between paying the rent and buying medicine for their sick son. You can guess what that meant (I don’t know if I would really want renters who would choose to pay rent in this situation). Set aside money.

Why Be A Slumlord?

Suppose a two bedroom house costs $130,000 and rents for $825. Somewhere nearby an old mobile home on a lot will probably cost $45,000 and rent for $600 or so. If the house costs nearly three times as much, but the rent isn’t even doubled, which do you think has more cash flow? If you got that you can understand why ugly houses and mobile homes (on land) are often the real estate investors ”cash cows.”

The downside? You will have more risk and management problems. The rent will be late more often, on average, and there will be more repairs. For these reasons you deserve a higher rate of return, and if you’re ready to be called a slumlord, you’ll get it. Just treat your tenants well, and make your rentals safe, so  you can honestly enjoy that profit.

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