Buy Owner Blog

President Obama has announced his $75 billion economic housing plan, expected to go into effect March 4. It’s met praise and criticism. What are your thoughts? [...]

After you’ve found and purchased the right home for you, it’s time to move in. Are you ready? Although an estimated 42 million people move each year, this transitioning process still ranks as one of the most stressful life events we go through. The often-tedious process of organizing, packing, transporting, unpacking, reorganizing and moving into a new residence can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be.

Here are 10 tricks to making the moving process as stress-free and as painless as possible:

1. The first step is to plan ahead. Make a list of everything you will need to do, from calling the movers to packing an overnight bag. Making a detailed list will spare you a lot of stress later on.

2. Declutter and hold a garage sale to get rid of anything you don’t need or want anymore. The less stuff you have to worry about taking with you, the easier the move will be.

3. Make sure you have plenty of supplies on hand. Of course you’ll need tons of boxes. You may also need bubble wrap, packing tape, scissors, markers, rags/paper towels and cleaning supplies.

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Whether you decided to sell your home today or you’ve had it on the market for a month or more, there are always opportunities to improve it for sale. You may need to make some major improvements, or you may just need to put some thought into the process.

Either way, Buy Owner® is here to give you a head start with the Top 10 Improvements Needed to Market Your Home:

1. Change your home’s first impression. What’s the first thing buyers will see when they pull up to your home? Throughout your property’s listing, you need to keep up with the yard work. Mow the lawn and trim bushes regularly. [...more...]

Wallpaper’s making a comeback! And what you may not realize is that there are tons of other uses, beyond just covering your walls. [...]

Winter isn’t gone, spring hasn’t arrived and the holidays are over. If you’re looking to fill your spare time and spruce up your home, now is the perfect time to redecorate! [...]

Spring cleaning is right around the corner, so this year opt to use green cleaning supplies! [...]

Thinking of building your dream home on vacant land? There are certain things that you must consider. More thought goes into the purchase of land than the purchase of a home. Here are 10 tips to know before buying land.

1. When looking for land, make sure you know what your plans are before purchasing it. This will help you imagine where you will put the house, barn, driveway, etc.

2. Know that you need permission to build on vacant land. Get your building permit and find out what rules you must follow, like how close you can build to a river.
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At its heart, staging is about setting the stage for potential buyers, making it easy for them to imagine themselves living in your home. Here are some ways to do just that:

1. Focus on first impressions: You only get one chance to make a solid first impression, and those initial 10 seconds can make or break your sale. Look at your front entryway: It is the first part of your home to greet your guests and gives them something to study as you amble up to open it, so you don’t want a door that is flawed in any way.
2. Create curb appeal: Part of a buyer’s first impression will be dictated by your landscaping. [...more...]

Even if your home feels small, you can create the illusion of space simple by working with what you’ve got. Here’s how!

Analysts make predictions for this year’s real estate market – will 2009 be the year things bottom out? [...]