Inexpensive Upgrades To Raise The Value Of Your Home

Inexpensive Upgrades Boost Imperial, MO Home Values Painlessly

Especially when it comes to major decisions like buying or selling your home, human nature seems to tilt toward delaying action until it’s the end result is absolutely certain. After all, nobody wants to make a life-changing move that turns out to be anything short of fantastic! So even when you’ve outgrown your current home…or found yourself in a daily long-distance commute because work has moved…or any number of other reasons why you know you should be looking for a new house…it can be difficult to commit to such a looming decision. Adding to that is one of the most common assumptions many Imperial, MO homeowners believe: that they have to spend a boatload of money to increase their home value. The truth is: it ain’t so! You can strategically update your Imperial, Missouri house before you put it on the market without cratering your bank account.
Items that only seem to require costly fixes:
• Make it Spacious
Adding space to a room increases any Imperial, MO home value. Tearing out walls isn’t necessary when there are so many other ways to achieve the same thing. Simple options include removing built-in shelves, enlarging windows, or (the simplest) just removing “stuff” that’s hogging perceived space.
• Go Green
More and more, you can improve your Imperial, MO home value by installing modest “green” upgrades. Today’s buyers may not necessarily be eco-focused—they may simply have a good sense of the increasing cost of water and power. “Going green” as a way to add home value to your area property can be no more costly than switching to low-flow toilets, adding a wifi thermostat with “smart” technology, or putting in a low cost drip watering system.
• Window Update
Have a room that comes across as outdated…or just plain ‘blah’? Consider how much extra home value a new window treatment might add. It could be as simple as installing a stylish valence over a window or two.
• Change the Doors
Remember your first apartment with its flimsy, hollow doors? A quality door can make a disproportionate difference to a property’s perceived home value. Changing out your front or back doors for more a more weighty or modern selection can be well worth the expense
• Paint
Paint is the number one way to alter the look of a room inexpensively. Instead of painting the entire room one color, another option is to make a “statement wall” in its own neutral color that compliments a painting’s or picture frame’s palate.
These are just a few suggestions that can increase the value of your home in Imperial, MO without a straining the family finances. Even in an older home, many times it’s the little touches that can make the greatest difference. Looking for specific suggestions to improve the value of your Imperial, Missouri home before listing it for sale? VISIT US HERE today for an in-home market evaluation!
The Helderle Team 2014 © All Rights Reserved


photo credit: miriamjoyce via photopin cc

Experience Is The Best Teacher For Real Estate Agents

**With Permission From Town Maps USA Images
Experience Is The Best Teacher For Real Estate Agents
Because real estate agents in Imperial, MO see everything in the market, we have a pretty good idea about why some houses sell (and why others sit on the market for years). Whether as buyer or seller, anyone planning to enter Imperial, Missouri real estate market this summer can benefit from some of the tactics and factors that Imperial, MO real estate agents keep in mind when as they go about the business of making home sales happen:
When Speed Matters…
When the overriding goal is a quick sale, leading with a price slightly lower than what comparables suggest it is really worth is the surest tactic. When a home is priced at only a fraction below market value, real estate agents know it will draw much more attention than higher-priced neighbors. Most sellers have a built-in resistance to the very idea!—often because aren’t aware of how a home loses fair value as it sits on the market. Pricing a listing slightly lower right out of the gate can mean minimizing the likelihood of a lengthy DOM (Days On Market)—and the possibility of a disappointing final sale price.
Preapproval: It’s Not Final Approval
Most real estate agents in Imperial have seen this more than once: a buyer who is preapproved for a mortgage begins running up credit cards in preparation for the move into their new home. Because lenders often re-examine a homebuyer’s credit during the closing proceedings, the result can be a higher than originally quoted interest rate, or even an outright denial. IOW, it’s wise to continue to spend frugally until keys are in hand!
It’s a Long Process
Real estate agents know that selling a house takes a finite amount of time, beginning with preparation, through marketing, then paperwork, then finally, closing…and that’s not counting any unexpected turns-of-events that sometimes just happen. Whether you are buying or selling, it pays to be mentally and emotionally prepared to remain as flexible as possible with all the other ongoing events in your life until the transaction is a done deal. If you’re considering buying or selling a home in Imperial, Mo this summer, there’s every reason to start preparing as early as possible. CONTACT US for an initial consultation—we can set up a timeline that will be the first step in keeping you well informed from start to finish!
The Helderle Team 2014 © All Rights Reserved

Listing Your Imperial, MO Home In Summer Means Staging Outdoors

Listing Your Imperial, MO Home In Summer Means Staging Outdoors
As the days grow longer and the thermometer rises, everyone wants to start spending more time outdoors—to make full use of our yards and patios. But what if your Imperial, Mo home is going to be on the market this summer? Does it mean you have to stop enjoying yourself, stop entertaining guests, just because you want to keep the place in showable condition?
The answer is, of course, of course not. Using the outdoor spaces of your home means striking a balance between living your life and ensuring everything is in top condition when buyers come calling. It’s actually a staging opportunity, because most of your prospective buyers will be favorably impressed if your outdoor staging areas make it easy to picture themselves enjoying our beautiful Imperial, Missouri summer weather.
Staging your home’s landscaping thus takes added importance during summertime, beginning with overall curb appeal. Any time of year, potential buyers are often swayed by that first impression: as they approach the house, the impact will be one they’d like their own future visitors to have. Staging an inviting front yard appearance does wonders for your selling prospects.>br> Make sure your lawn is trimmed and the yard edged. During springtime and fall, a 2”-3” grass length is recommended, but as the hotter summer months approach, longer grass will help shade the soil and keep roots comfy. Minimize brown spots and thin patches by giving the blades an extra half inch.
Staging walkways and driveways means keeping cemented areas free of volunteer growing things. Having weeds, clover, or anything sprouting between stones or pavement is not only unsightly, it brings to mind the work required for upkeep (a turnoff to prospects). Although chemical herbicides are popular, an eco-conscious (and penny-conscious) alternative is plain old kitchen vinegar.
The most important staging advice for the outside of the house is that it give the impression that a fresh coat of paint won’t be needed for quite a while. Cleaning it can be enough, or if not, new paint may be needed. You can opt for professional painting, but if your home is sided, or if you’ve recently (within the past five years) had your home painted, pay attention to details like windows and other smaller touchups you can easily do yourself.
If staging the back (and possibly front) yards is likely to be a really important part of marketing your Imperial, Missouri home, give some attention to outdoor furniture. It’s expensive stuff, so if it’s going to really be a key selling point for the property, it might be worth the effort to really make the space shine. If you don’t have any outdoor furniture (and don’t plan to need any in your new house), consider hiring a stager just to handle the exterior spaces. Less expensive than a full home staging, exterior staging can make a huge difference in the overall appeal of your Imperial, MO home during the outdoor months.
Once you’ve revitalized of your home’s outdoor areas, keeping it in top showing condition need consist of little more than the regular weekly yard work and cleanup, a relaxing prospect for enjoying your property throughout the good weather months. And do give me a call, or VISIT US we are standing by.
The Helderle Team 2013 © All Rights Reserved

Repair Demands: Par for the Course for Selling an Imperial, MO Home

If you have taken good care of your property, you rightfully expect that selling your Imperial, Mo home will result in its fetching a good price when it hits the market. That’s the right mindset for success, but it serves sellers best when it’s only a starting point. Dealing with flesh-and-blood buyers can require some judicious flexibility—for one reason, there is usually an inconspicuous (somewhat annoying) fly in the ointment. The metaphoric fly is the fact that no property is without its flaws; and its metaphoric buzzing is likely to get louder as your sale’s closing grows nearer.
Structural elements of a house have varying life spans since wear and tear is inevitable in any space where people live. Many of a home’s features eventually require repair, and if it’s very soon, given that most informed buyers expect to take over a property with as few problems as possible, post-inspection demands can result. Especially if you’ve put a good deal of effort into getting everything shipshape, it can be maddening.
Nevertheless, plan to ignore any impulse to scrap the sale and tell the buyer to take a hike. Since some post-inspection requests are par for the course, you should know your options when you’re selling a home in Imperial, Missouri and your buyer requests repairs.
Repair Obligation for the Seller
As the seller of the property, you are not required to fix anything in the home inspection report. Any repairs cited are points of negotiation: just because an inspector cites flaws, that doesn’t mean repairs have to take place before the sale can be completed. If you don’t want to accept a purchase agreement that is conditioned on the completion of repairs, that is your option.
Purchasing a Home Warranty for the Buyer
Buyers sometimes request that you as seller pay for a home warranty. A home warranty generally covers the buyer’s outlay for major defects for a year following purchase. Such a warranty will typically cost no more than $600, and again, the decision to purchase one is up to the party selling a home.
Major Repairs
In many cases, requested repairs will be relatively minor, so it’s often preferable to have them made to proceed without further wrangling. But (you can almost hear that fly buzzing louder) should requested repairs be more extensive, you’ll have to evaluate the cost against the sale price.
Whether to Complete a Repair
Your home might be your pride and joy, but it is important not to take requests for repairs personally. Selling an Imperial, Missouri home is most successful when the seller first carefully examines the request, then makes a rational assessment based on what will produce the optimal outcome. If a next-best offer is on the table, its terms should be reexamined. You can also offer to proceed with the original purchase agreement but not agree to complete the repairs as requested. If the buyer likes your home and believes the price is reasonable, he or she may agree to proceed with the purchase as-is.
Whether or not you are concerned about potential repairs, if you are thinking of selling your home in Imperial, MO this summer, CONTACT ME today for a complimentary evaluation.
The Helderle Team 2013 © All Rights Reserved

How to Make Showing Your Imperial, MO Home a Breeze

When you’re selling your home, keeping it ready to show at a moment’s notice can sometimes make a major difference. In a perfect world, prospective buyers will always have time to schedule showings in advance—but exceptions do occur. That’s why experienced sellers know how to juggle living a normal life at the same time they are keeping their place ‘show-ready’ by calling on a few organizational tricks. They really aren’t all that difficult (but do take a commitment to stay organized). When you follow them, it makes showing your home in Imperial, MO a snap!
Supplies at the Ready:
The easiest way to stay on top of messes is to nail them when they start. Stock up on wipes and ready-to-use supplies (think pre-soaked wipes and erasers instead of rags, sprays and mops)—and stash them in key locations around the house. Between showings, you can even keep them in plain sight: it reminds you to wipe down surfaces after each use without making it a major project. Regular quick wipe-downs will keep your home shiny and inviting—even when showing you’re Imperial, MO home comes as a last-minute surprise.
Simplify Storage
Place a few attractive bins and storage ottomans strategically in rooms that are prone to clutter (playrooms, bedrooms and dens). Encourage everyone to make a habit of throwing the odds and ends into them before the end of the day, and removing things only as they are needed. Showing your home on a dime becomes a no-brainer when the clutter lives out of sight.
Start Packing
If you haven’t already started packing, get going early. Pack up everything you don’t use regularly—like those shelves of books you haven’t touched in years. And deal with the off-season wardrobe: when you’re actively showing your home in Imperial, Mo this spring or summer, those fall and winter items should be headed into storage.
Make Small Adjustments
This idea is optional—but it really works! Encourage everyone to remove their shoes at the front door. Place a decorative mat at the entrance (and include a coat rack if the weather calls for it). This temporary house rule works to get everyone in on the act, and subtly helps keep them conscious that showing your home is partly everyone’s responsibility. It’s also a reminder to keep packages and bags from building up near those doorways
When showing your Imperial, MO home is part of a well-planned and systematic project, just a few of these relatively minor adjustments can keep you and your family cool and collected—and make even last-minute showings a breeze. My clients make the rules for what the minimum heads-up time for scheduling a showing will be, and we stick to it. But when they are able to create an environment when the odd last-minute showing is a no-stress possibility, it does seem to have a way of increasing the odds that the latest showing…becomes the last!
For more tips on Making Your Imperial. MO Home A Breeze To Show, contact us today via email stlouishomes@yahoo.com or visit us at Homes of St Louis.com

The Helderle Team 2014 © All Rights Reserved

Homeowners in Imperial, MO Hope to Match National Price Increases

Homeowners in Imperial, MO Hope to Match National Price Increases

2014 has already given an encouraging start for Imperial, MO homeowners who consider national price movements as the best pointers for what we can expect for local real estate. Already in February, median house prices were up 7.6% nationally year over year (that according to the US National Housing Trend Report). It followed a similar 8.3% increase in January. The question many Imperial, MO., homeowners have is whether this upward movement can be sustained throughout 2014.

Two Years of Historically High Growth

If we look at the historical record, values normally rise somewhere in the area of 3% to 5% annually. But over the last couple of years, gains have been considerably higher. As measured by the Case-Schiller Index, property prices in the 20 largest U.S. cities have increased 21% since they bottomed out. Even considering the depth from which they started, that is still remarkable.

Factors Likely To Influence Home Prices

Among factors which could influence performance in the year ahead, one of the most prominent is the continuing historically low interest rates. According to the leading financial website Bankrate, as of this writing, the average no-point, 30-year fixed mortgage was edging downward again to 4.32%. That may be up from a year ago, but, by way of contrast, the long-term average for a 30-year mortgage is estimated to be 8.56%!

Even considering Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s stated intention to continue the Fed’s expansive monetary policy, most observers consider it all but inevitable that as the economy improves, quantitative easing will be cut back…pressuring interest rates to rise (and last month the Federal Reserve made a $10 billion cut in its economic stimulus program).

Two other factors likely to weigh heavily on future price moves are foreclosures and negative equity. As real estate prices increase, the number of Imperial, MO homeowners whose homes register negative equity will steadily decrease. An improving economy will also mean that foreclosure rates continue to decline.

Predictions for the Year Ahead

According to Zillow’s national Home Value Forecast, homeowners can expect residential real estate prices to rise 4.8% across the nation through December 2014. Economists also expects that inventory—the number of homes offered for sale—will increase as more sellers are encouraged by higher prices and new home construction ramps up.

All in all, it’s easy to see why overall expectations are for this to be a solid year for residential home price increases—even taking into account expectations for rises in interest rates and housing inventory. Exactly when is, of course, something that’s impossible to predict.  While this year isn’t expected to duplicate the spectacular gains of the past two years, all indications are that it will wind up being another good year for homeowners in Imperial, MO

In case the forecasts have you wondering what your home is now worth, why not contact CONTACT US TODAY to discuss your own home’s prospects in this spring’s active market?

The Helderle Team 2014 © All Rights Reserved

Getting Your Imperial, MO Home Ready For Spring

Getting Your Imperial MO.,Home Ready for Spring/Summer

Once the snow thaws and the temperatures begin to climb, homeowners are often glad that they no longer have to worry about the winter maintenance such as shoveling snow. Spring has its own challenges with the season's thunderstorms. When summer approaches, the cares of homeowners turn to the air conditioning to contend with high temperatures. Here are some home maintenance tips from a Realtor to help the homeowner be prepared for the upcoming seasons and protect the value of the real estate.

The rain associated with springtime can quickly show any roof failures with telltale brown stains on the ceilings. Before the stains show, the underlying wood may be compromised. In order to prevent the cosmetic issues and potential rotting wood, the homeowner should consider doing a thorough examination of the roofing and flashing around chimneys.

Moisture also can cause problems when it enters around doors and windows. This moisture can become trapped in the walls and breed mold. Homeowners can help prevent this problem by checking and repairing the caulking around the windows and doors

Ceiling fans should be cleaned and adjusted to rotate counter-clockwise. The counter-clockwise movement of the fan blades directs the air downward to cool the room. Blinds and curtains may be used to block the sunlight in the heat of the day.

Spring is the ideal time to change the filters for the air conditioners and test them. If there is a problem with an air conditioning system, a homeowner can have the system repaired quickly and easily in early spring. Once the summer months arrive and the air conditioner is put to use, the repair services may be in high demand. This can cause a significant delay in getting the necessary repairs. Avoid the hassle and check your air conditioner early.

Animals become more active in the St. Louis, MO area. While the birds may be a welcome sight after the long winter, termites and other insects are not. The increased insect activity may make a call to the exterminator necessary. Many exterminator services offer low-cost or even free inspections for pests. Early detection is important to avoid damage to the home.

Real estate is an important investment. There are many small tasks that can be done to protect the home. Many homeowners choose to check their smoke detectors in spring. Cleaning and testing all the smoke detectors in the home does not take much time. However, there are few jobs more important than doing so.

It is common for homeowners to take advantage of the higher temperatures to catch up on the landscaping needs that have had to wait through the winter months of St. Louis, MO. As the weather becomes warmer, the homeowner may want to consider planting a bush to shade any outside air conditioning units
.

Many people consider the spring and summer months to be the most pleasant of the year though the rain and heat brings new challenges. The homeowners in St. Louis, MO can be ready for the upcoming weather by following these home maintenance tips

For more Spring Tips or a quality contract contact Frank & Laurie at HOMES OF ST. LOUIS