Posts tagged real estate

Featured City: Deltona, FL

Jun22
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

Deltona

As part of a special feature at the Buy Owner Blog, we’ll be highlighting cities throughout the nation, profiling their attractions and conveniences, as well as pointing out some currently for-sale homes in the area!

Today’s City: Deltona, FL

Thinking of buying a home in Deltona? Located in the heart of southwestern Volusia County, Deltona is a principle city in Florida’s Fun Coast. Diverse in its cultural makeup, this dynamic community has about 90,000 residents according to the city’s official website.

Not only does Deltona offer a city website but also a 24-hour government-access T.V. channel (DTV) through Channel 199 on BrightHouse Networks and an Emergency Radio Station at 1610 AM. The WebPage, DTV channel and radio station offer a multitude of opportunities to stay informed about activities and issues throughout Deltona!

Image credit: RealEstate.AOL.com

Posted in Buying Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , , , ,

Florida Home Prices Dropping

Jun18
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

florida

According to a recent article at HousingWatch.com, Florida house prices are dropping, even in the state’s most expensive city: Key West.

What was once an impossible location for many buyers in the Sunshine State has become surprisingly attainable. A Miami Herald article cites a couple who “paid $157,000 for the foreclosure that an investor bought in 2004 for $370,000 and in 2006 was appraised for $463,000.”

So while it’s true these numbers reflect problems in the market, it’s also true that they offer good news for those looking to make the most of the downturn.

And for abundant listings throughout Florida and other states, head over to BuyOwner.com and begin searching!

Posted in Market News, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , ,

After Your Ad is Live

Jun14
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

after your ad is live

Congratulations on taking the first step towards selling your home on your own: Using Buy Owner!

As the nation’s leading FSBO company, Buy Owner offers the strength and stability of an established company, as well as the hallmark of being the most popular FSBO destination online, delivering over 10 million page views per month.

    Now that your ad is live, your home benefits from exposure to potential buyers through Buy Owner’s ultra-aggressive advertising campaign that includes:

  • An aggressively advertised toll-free number (800-771-7777)
  • Our constantly visited website, BuyOwner.com
  • Buy Owner Magazine

These resources do the hard work of getting your property exposed and marketed, so that you can get it sold!

While you’re selling with Buy Owner, you can improve your chances of selling by putting a little legwork into your sale. Check out these helpful tips from previous Buy Owner Blog articles!

  1. “Schedule an open house on a weekend afternoon when not a lot of community events are happening. Hint: don’t plan the open house on the day of a big football game or the weekend of a holiday.” 25 Extra Tricks for Drawing Buyers
  2. “By cleaning, decluttering and repairing your home, you set it ahead of the pack, and you make it easier for buyers to imagine themselves inside.” (from “Beating the Market: How to Sell Now!“)
  3. “If there’s one keyword to keep in mind when you’re planning a home showing, it’s this: detail…When you prepare for a home showing, you’re preparing your home in a very similar way. Just like your vehicle needs to smell good, look good, be in absolute mint condition, so should your home be when potential buyers come to call.” (from “The Key to Showing Well: Detailing”)
  4. “When done right, curb appeal has the power to pull potential buyers in, implying that the interior of your home will be just as impressive as the façade.” (from “8 Ways to Improve Curb Appeal“)
Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , , ,

How to Be Realistic about Price

Jun07
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

pricing realistically

As a home seller eager to make a profit on your sale, it can be easy to lose sight of an important truth: Your house is worth what a buyer is willing to pay.

Not what it sold for.

Not what you invested.

Not what you want a buyer to pay.

Your house is worth what a buyer is willing to pay.

So when you’re trying to price your home realistically, it’s helpful to think in terms of that fact, asking yourself what price a buyer would realistically be willing to pay for your home.

How can you best estimate what price that would be?

Ask yourself some questions:

  • What do other sellers of similar homes think buyers will pay?
  • What have other buyers paid for similar homes recently?
  • How will my home compare to the competition?
  • How fast are homes selling in my area?

These questions will help you gather valuable information that can lead to an estimated range for pricing your property. Ideally, you want to price just a little higher (around 2 to 5 %) than what you think a buyer will pay, in order to leave room for negotiation.

Of course it’s always tempting to price higher, in hopes that someone will come along who wants your place. But the only person who loses in that situation is you, while you wait longer on the market.

So price carefully, and you’ll price right.

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

Keys to Selling: Kitchen/Baths!

May24
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

kitchen

According to an article in the Lansing State Journal last month, the most important home improvements you can make are in the kitchen and the bathrooms. Not only do renovations to these spaces improve your enjoyment of your home, but they also increase your home’s value. Often, sellers will recoup most of the renovation investments in a higher selling price!

Here are some suggestions offered by interior designer Elizabeth Falconer, who was interviewed for the Lansing State Journal article:

  • More appliances: If you’re looking for tips on purchasing new appliances to add value to your kitchen, check out this Buy Owner Blog article!
  • More kitchens: It’s increasingly common for homes to have second kitchens in the basement or outdoors. Even a mini kitchenette adds value in the minds of buyers.
  • Better storage: Think built-ins and cleverly concealed spaces.
  • Bathrooms with designated his/her space
  • Separate closet for toilets

And these ideas are just the beginning! Previous Buy Owner Blog articles discuss all kinds of possible kitchen improvements, from cabinets and countertops to sinks, lighting and even decoration.

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , ,

Boosting Buyer Interest in Spring

Apr05
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

green for spring

If your home has been on the market since the cold, inactive months of winter real estate, now is the time to step it up. Warm spring weather tends to reactive the real estate market and adds numerous new home sellers to the market, causing your home to fall to the bottom of the pile. Home buyers are also most active in the coming months, and they are interested in the new rather than the old. What can you do to reestablish interest in your home? Here are five starting tips:

  • Add a significant upgrade or minor upgrades to your home. A major upgrade could include adding an Energy Star refrigerator, repainting your entire exterior or interior, upgrading your countertops to granite or replacing old carpeting with hardwood flooring. Minor upgrades could include adding a new front door, repainting the deck or adding a keypad entry to the garage. Then, have your advertisement updated with these new improvements.
  • Redecorate. It’s the perfect way to spend your spare time while waiting for interested home buyers. That way, when you do host an open house or show the house to potential buyers, you can rave about the contemporary colors of paint you added. Or, you can remain silent and just allow the buyers to breathe in the scent of the spring flowers on the table.
  • Include an item with your home sale to perk more interest. While keeping the price the same, update your advertisements to say that you will leave your rider lawn mower, your chic chandelier, your designer curtains or your vintage rug. If you’re really desperate to sell, you could even offer the home fully furnished.
  • Keep the outside of your house looking immaculate. Try mowing your lawn diagonally for visual appeal and to make the yard appear larger. Trim the edges of the lawn along the driveway and walkway. Trim all the trees and bushes, rake the yard and pull weeds from the gardens. If the outside of the house looks appealing, potential home buyers will want to see the inside.

These tips will get you well on your way to gaining potential home buyer interest!

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

5 Reasons to Buy a Home

Mar23
2010 1 Comment Written by Shanna

Long called The American Dream, home ownership is a privilege worth pursuing. There are a lot of reasons to choose to buy a home, especially right now:

  1. OWNERSHIP: Whether you rent or buy, you have to live somewhere, right? Buying your own home gives you pride of ownership, a sense of pride in what you’ve purchased, not to mention the peace of mind of no rent increases.
  2. LONG-TERM INVESTMENT: If you’re planning to settle down and put down roots in your city, buying a home is usually a smarter financial decision than renting. Think about it: At $1,000/month for 10 years, you will have put $10,000 into your housing, and you’ll have absolutely nothing to show for it. If you buy your home, however, you could have $10,000 in equity. Plus, over time, most properties appreciate in value, giving you even more increased equity.
  3. TAX BENEFITS: There are consideration tax benefits for owning a home. If you itemize, your mortgage interest is deductible, up to one million dollars. Also, if you have owned your principle residence for at least two of the last five years, when you sell it, you can keep up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple) of the sale price, totally tax free.
  4. BUYERS’ MARKET: Because we are currently in a buyers’ market, there’s never been a better time to shop around. You’ll have plenty of properties to choose from and, most likely, they will be priced affordably.
  5. TAX CREDITS: Plus, one of the great perks of buying a home right now is that the government wants to make it easier for you. The current tax credits still provide significant financial savings, up to $8,000 in tax credits for first-time buyers, in addition to possible credits for existing home buyers.

Think you’re ready to take the plunge? Head over to BuyOwner.com to search through available properties!

Posted in Buying Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

WSJ: The Forecast This Spring

Mar18
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, the forecast for real estate this spring is not a bleak one:

“After polling builder communities in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Texas and California’s Inland Empire, Ticonderoga Securities Analyst Stephen East says the spring home-selling scene is coming along nicely.

‘The season is indeed under way despite being delayed a bit by bad weather,’ he writes in a client note. What’s more, ‘while the market is benefiting from the tax credit, it is also showing distinct signs of normalizing.‘”

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Posted in Market News, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

Show It To Sell It

Mar01
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

Marketing your home is all about playing up/emphasizing its features.

Is the land the best part? Then clear out brush, clean up sheds, mow the lawn, trim the bushes. Are the brand-new hardwood floors the hot feature? Then get them in shining, gleaming condition and place furniture in such a way that the floors get noticed (i.e., don’t let them be so cluttered that you can’t see anything!).

The key is: Make the most of what your home has got.

Think about the bedrooms.

Many times, in a home with three or more bedrooms, one bedroom might be used as an office or a workout room or for storage or something else. That’s convenient for you, and while you’ve been the one living there, that’s all that matters. But now you want to sell. And if you’re advertising your home as having four bedrooms, make it look like there are four bedrooms, with a bed in each.

You’re selling now, so it’s about playing up your home’s features.

Along those lines, your bedrooms should be clean, spotless, free of clutter and freshly vacuumed or swept. Don’t overlook the closets; buyers will be free to open them and have a look inside. The more empty space they see, the easier it will be for them to imagine their own belongings inside.

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

Reason #26 to Sell with Buy Owner: Housefly

Jan26
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

31 reasons

One of Buy Owner’s many exciting tools is the innovative Housefly feature!

By going to this page at Buy Owner, you can watch a constantly evolving list of viewed properties, updated every 30 seconds. As someone out there views a home in Atlanta, Georgia, for example, you will see it come up on Housefly!

So whether you want to see for yourself which properties are getting the most hits or figure out how often homes in your area are appearing, Housefly makes it possible.

Like a housefly on the wall, you’ll be able to watch the constantly changing list of just-viewed advertisements. As a property is viewed, this page is updated in moments to show you the current information. Go see for yourself! It’s one more way Buy Owner works to use technology for your advantage!

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , ,
« Older Entries

About the BuyOwner.com Blog

Welcome to the BuyOwner.com Blog, your source for regularly updated market information!

Founded in 1984, BuyOwner.com® is the leading provider of real estate marketing services. We pioneered the "For Sale by Owner" (FSBO) market, which today represents over 20 percent of all residential real estate transactions.

You can read more about BuyOwner.com here.

Article Archives

Blog Roll

Real Estate Top Blogs Real Estate Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory Add to Technorati Favorites Find the best blogs at Blogs.com. Blog Directory Home Improvement Blog Directory

Subscribe

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner