We all have a tendency to accumulate things/stuff/junk in our homes.  If you are one of those people that never keeps something just in case, then this is not for you.  For the rest of us, getting rid of things can be a chore.

Fortunately, there are a couple of really easy ways to dispose of things you no longer want, and certainly don’t want to move, that could be useful to someone else.

pickupplease.org

This website allows you to schedule a free pickup of unwanted household goods, clothing, small appliances and small furniture.  It’s easy, easy, easy to just go to the site, provide your pick up address and choose from several different pick up dates throughout the month.  I used them this week and loaded up my front porch with bags of clothes that no longer fit (don’t ask), a box full of coffee cups (I have no idea where they all came from), an old end table and a box of what appeared to be every curtain that has ever hung in my home at one time or another.  When I got back home, all of the items were gone and they left behind a door hanger receipt for tax purposes.  You can’t get much better than that!  The bonus is that donations are used to support local, state and national programs for Vietnam Veterans of America.

Visit pickupplease.org

freecycle.org

Freecycle is a community group that posts items they are offering for free or allows folks to request items they are in need of.  You’ll have to create an account with them, but once that’s done, you can post your discards on the site for pickup by anyone in need.  I’ve used this site as well, getting rid of shoes that I don’t wear anymore by giving them to a member of the Krewe of Muses who is busily gluing, glittering and otherwise embellishing shoes for the parade this year.

Visit freecycle.org

If you know of any other local businesses accepting donations that we can support or get the word out for, please leave their information in the comments below.

Instead, I took the opportunity to use all of that cleaning and decorating (and undecorating) to have the house spotless and perfect to hit the market in January.

Here are 5 tips you can use if you plan to hit the market in January:

While you are up there taking down the outdoor lights, go ahead and clean out those gutters and check for any needed repairs to the soffits and fascia

When you remove the wreath from the front door, take a close look at it.  Does the door need to be repainted or just cleaned up?  Take care of that now and it will be one less thing on your to-do list.

This can be a tough time of year for New Orleans gardens, but adding a new layer of mulch will freshen it up and make the front of your home look neat and tidy.

While packing up your indoor decorations, grab a couple of extra boxes and start clearing the clutter.

Since the ladder is out, get the swiffer or duster and clean those ceiling fans.

Do you need more information about selling your New Orleans home?  We can help.

• Contact the West Bank Living Team
• Read more home seller tips

With FHA being the most common form of financing across the New Orleans metro area, it’s good to see an increase in the loan limits for this type of financing.  If you need a referral to an approved FHA lender, please contact us.

These maximum mortgage limits on residential loans will be in effect January 1, 2012 until December 31, 2013 in Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist and St. Tammany Parishes.

1 unit      $287,500    

2 units    $368,050

3 units    $444,900    

4 units    $552,900

Now, in this buyer’s market, it’s hard enough to sell most homes, but when an investor is working on a timeframe to get it sold so they can move on to their next project, it’s our recommendation that they take the time to:

• be sure they have a budget sufficient to finish the project and
• have a decorator and/or home stager as part of their team

I saw two homes in nice West Bank neighborhoods that had great bones, but were clearly not up to snuff in the finishes department.  Missing baseboards, mismatched wall colors, too many different flooring choices that all collided with each other in openings and doorways, cheap faucets, no bathroom mirrors….the list goes on and on.  To top it off, curb appeal was non-existent in both of these homes too, with no shrubs, no flowers, no door mats, no welcoming touches that would make a buyer feel like they needed to get inside and see more.

According to the listing agent, money for the projects ran out before the work was finished.

I know from personal experience that a home renovation always, always, always goes over budget in at least one area and having a cushion to deal with those overages is critical if the house is going to turn out as planned.

As to choices made, no offense to the renovators is meant.  But, a feminine touch is not a bad thing.  When a couple is buying a home, if the wife thinks that a house is “ugly”, you don’t make a sale.  Also, with almost 20% of home purchases being made by single female buyers, appealing to women should be one of the top priorities when selecting those finishing touches.

I applaud the investors who have confidence in our local economy and believe that there is a market for a well done renovation.  Let’s just be sure they actually are well done before you put a sign in the yard.

SEARCH NEW ORLEANS HOMES FOR SALE

For a seller, the goal is to get that house sold.  At the highest price the market will support.  In the shortest amount of time humanly possible.

For a buyer, the goal is to find a house that says home.  With the right amount of space.  And a few upgrades.  And that is a bargain.

Since buyers and sellers have some conflicting goals, offers and counter offers can sometimes be taken personally.

What are the risks?

Counter offers always set up the risk of the other side just walking away from a possible sale.

Buyers may be fishing for a deeply discounted home and offend the owner with what they perceive as an insulting offer.  Unless their agent is experienced in keeping the emotions out of a sale, this insulted feeling can cause the seller to make a counter offer that says “go away, I’ll never sell you my home” to the buyer, either by countering at full price or just a few dollars below.  And that’s OK…as long as the seller is willing to take a feeling of satisfaction over the possibility of actually coming to terms and getting their house sold.

Sellers are, rightfully, proud of the home they have created and their pricing tends to have a lot of emotion built into it.  It’s also possible that they bought when the market was higher and need a certain price to avoid it costing them money to sell their home.  In either scenario, the home owner might be stuck on a price that a buyer just can’t justify based on what other homes are selling for.  Again, an unrealistic counter could have them looking at the backs of the buyers as they walk away.

You’ll note I said unrealistic.

If an offer is low just because the buyer thinks that every home is selling for pennies on the dollar, then they will quickly find themselves on the side of a number of rejections by sellers.  Conversely, if a seller counters at a price that their agent is advising against based on the market, they will find themselves continuing to own a property that may not fit their needs any longer as the buyer moves on to one of the other properties available.

The bottom line is that sellers want to sell and buyers want to buy.  Allowing a small amount of money to keep this from happening (on either side) is never a good strategy, but it happens all of the time.  I’ve seen buyers and sellers dig in their heels when they are only $500 apart.  As long as you are willing to risk losing a sale or the house that you want, go on with your bad self.

If you want to actually get to a closing, tamp down those emotions, listen to the advice of your real estate professional and find a happy medium, which is what a successful negotiation really accomplishes anyway.

Find New Orleans homes for sale

What’s my New Orleans home worth?

I checked out the rules with the IRS and here are the details:

From the IRS website:

Q. When does my home stop being my main home?

A. Here are examples of when your home stops being your main home:

• You sell the home.
• You transfer the home to a spouse or former spouse in a divorce settlement.
• You convert the entire home to a rental or business property.
• You converted the home to a vacation or second home.
• You no longer live in the home for the greater number of nights in a year.
• Your home is destroyed or condemned.
• You lose your home in foreclosure.
• You die. (1/6/11)

Q. When do I have to repay the credit?

A. You repay the full or part of the credit as an additional tax on your tax return when the home stops being your main home during the 36-month period following the date you purchased your home.

You must repay the full credit when:

• You sold your main home to a related person or entity
• Your home is destroyed, condemned or disposed of under threat of condemnation and you do not purchase or rebuild a replacement home within two years.
• You converted the entire home to a rental or business property.
• You converted the home to a vacation or second home.
• You no longer live in the home for the greater number of nights in a year.

You may have to repay the full or a part of the credit when:

• You sold your main home to a non-related person or entity. You repay the amount of the credit up to the amount of your capital gain. Note: when calculating gain or loss on your main home if you received the first-time homebuyer credit, you reduce your basis by the amount of the credit. See Publication 551, Basis of Assets, for more information.
• You lost your home in a foreclosure.You must repay the credit only up to the amount of gain. (1/6/11)

Can’t We Just Give Them A Credit?

Well, technically, yes.  You can.  However, the Louisiana inspection response form indicates that an allowance for repairs is only good if the lender is OK with it.  Here’s a hint.  Most of them are not because it throws up a big red flag that there are defects in the property they are taking as collateral in exchange for lending the buyer the purchase money.

What Are Your Alternatives?

You have a couple of choices.

1.  Go ahead and make the repairs.  This is typically less expensive than any allowance that a buyer may ask for, because they are always going to estimate on the high end of repair costs while sellers tend to estimate on the low end.

2.  Instead of a repair credit, offer to give those funds as closing cost assistance.  As long as the assistance doesn’t exceed the maximum allowable by the lender (typically 6% of the purchase price), then an amendment to the purchase agreement can be completed and the sale can move forward.

More New Orleans Home Selling Tips

There’s a difference between home maintenance and a home improvement

Maintenance

• Repairing or replacing your HVAC system
• Replacing old appliances
• Removing wallpaper
• Painting
• Replacing an old roof
• Repairing broken windows

Buyers are funny….they like to have functioning air conditioning and a roof that doesn’t leak.  Replacing things like this in your home position you to sell faster and closer to your asking price, but they don’t make the house worth more than all of the other homes in your neighborhood.

Upgrades/Improvements

• Granite counters
• Adding a deck or patio
• Adding high end appliances
• Adding a garage if they are not typical in your neighborhood

Deciding what is an upgrade will depend on where your home located.  If you are in a luxury, gated community, those granite counters are going to be the norm, not an upgrade.  If you are in a starter home area, the addition of some custom cabinetry and mid-range appliances may be considered an upgrade.  It all comes back to location, location, location and what home buyers expect from a home in the community.

An experienced, local agent is the best guide to helping you determine the value of your home when you are ready to sell, but if you just want an idea of what’s happening in your neighborhood, get your free online home value report here.

These 3 common home staging myths are based on my experience staging and selling Montreal West Island homes. Please note that I am NOT an international expert on home staging and real estate, nor do I play one on TV…at least not yet LOL.

That being said, in the years that I have been staging and selling Montreal West Island homes, I have come across many homeowners who believed they knew how to stage their home. Many did have a good handle on how to prepare their home for sale.

Others…well, not so much. Some had spent considerable time and energy falling victim to 3 common home staging myths:

Staging Myth #1: When in doubt, paint the walls white.

While this may sound like a good idea, in reality, there are hundreds of different whites to choose from. Pick the wrong one, and your home ends up looking antiseptic. Yes, I know, a clean home is good. But an antiseptic one turns people off.

Unless you have loads of big, beautiful works of art for a gallery-type feel, or someone who can choose a white just for your space, it’s safer to go with a light beige. I know – light beige, how boring. But it is warm and neutral and rarely elicits a negative response.

And by the way, a gallon of light beige paint costs exactly the same as a gallon of white paint, so no excuses!

Staging Myth #2: Go crazy with the decluttering.

The thing is, you CAN go too far with decluttering, leaving your home devoid of any personality, charm or character whatsoever. Buyers are looking for homes that feel warm and welcoming. They are turned off by homes that look “cold.”

Staging Myth 3: Banish all family photos.

Nope, I disagree. Surprised?

Family photos add a piece of you. They add life, character and warmth. They show that a real family, real people, lived here…happily. They show a lifestyle, and buyers are drawn to things that evoke a lifestyle that looks happy and content.

Buyers are also naturally curious — they like to get a feel for the persons living there. Leave them a few cues and they’re happy.

But not ALL family photos need to be displayed, and they shouldn’t be all over the place. I tend to cluster family photos, for example on a wall, a dresser, a console table or an end table. Clustering makes an impact, but only for a moment, so that buyers are not continually distracted by you and your family every step of the way as they visit your home.

Common to all 3 of these myths is the premise that a home for sale should be devoid of the family that made that house their home. I disagree wholeheartedly. You and your family SHOULD be there, symbolically, but in tasteful measures.

It’s like adding seasonings to your food: add none and the food is bland, too much spoils the dish, but a little goes a long way.

With home staging, we like to leave just enough spice in a home to give it flavour, without overwhelming a buyer’s tastebuds.

If you ever find yourself in need of a real estate broker in Montreal, Canada, we can’t think of a better person to help you than Tanya Nouwens.  Visit her site at ReadySet>>Sold! for more information about home staging and real estate in Montreal.

What you shouldn’t be sharing quite so freely, though, are the nitty gritty details of how things are going when selling your house.

Don’t share what your bottom line is.  You wouldn’t tell a buyer that even though your home is priced at $200,000 you will really take $175,000, so why in the world would you broadcast that online and potentially give away your negotiating power?

Don’t share what you think are problems with the house.  The property disclosure is the right place for that information and your agent will make sure that any potential buyer has that information in their hand before making an offer.  What may seem to be a problem for you might not be a big deal to a buyer, so don’t go putting ideas in their heads based on how you feel.

Don’t share that you are desperate for an offer.  It might take a while to sell your home and patience is key in this market.  Putting it out there to your sphere of influence that you are desperate could potentially backfire in the form of a low ball offer from a friend of a friend.

Once you get an offer, don’t share that you hate the buyer and what a pain in the butt they are.  I don’t care if they ask for every single little thing on the inspection report, you don’t know who they know and trash talking them online could get back to the buyer.  If it’s still during the inspection period, they could walk away for any reason (including the fact that they don’t like you) and you are back to square one.

Enough with the negative.

What should you share online?

DO share the virtual tour, listing photos and anything else your agent provides that will help get the word out that you are on the market and ready to sell.

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