Thursday, February 26, 2015

Get Higher ROI with Low Budget Updates

HomeGain, the leading provider of online marketing programs that connect real estate agents and brokers with home buyers and sellers, has identified the top 10 home improvements under $1,500 that gives sellers higher ROI as follows:

Rank
Activity
Cost
Price Increase
Return On Investment
1st
Cleaning and de-cluttering
$290
$1,990
586%
2nd
Lightening and brightening
$375
$1,550
313%
3rd
Home Staging
$550
$2,194
299%
4th
Landscaping
$540
$1,932
258%
5th
Repairing electrical or plumbing
$535
$1,505
181%
6th
Kitchen and bathroom
$1,265
$435
172%
7th
Replace or shampoo carpets
$647
$1,730
169%
8th
Paint interior
$1,012
$2,112
109%
9th
Repair floors
$931
$1,924
107%
10th
Paint Exterior
$1,467
$2,222
51%


Top 3 Money Maker$ are:

1. Cleaning and De-cluttering. Remove personal items, wash inside and outside of your home, freshen air, remove clutters from all areas of the home. Organize closets, Polish wood works and mirrors. The more personal stuff in the house, the less potential buyers can imagine themselves living there. 

2. Lightening and Brightening. Clean windows (inside and out), remove old curtains and hang a new one, remove fixtures from windows, make sure windows open easily. Make sure that sunlight enters the room.  Ensure that your house is bright and cheery - it will make more marketable.


3. Home Staging. Add fresh flowers, remove personal items, arrange furniture, add new props and artwork. Home staging simply means arranging your furniture to best showcase the floor plan and maximize the use of space. 


If you have a limited budget and you are interested in making more of a cash return on your investment, follow the 3 tips above and get top dollar when selling your home.


Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Lower FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium

FHA has announced that it will lower its annual premium on the loans it insures from 1.35% to .85%. for loans with less than 5% down and for loans with more than 5% down, Mortgage Insurance Premium is lowered from 1.3% to .8%. With this new rule, the first-time home buyers can save about $900 a year on their mortgage payments. Same savings will be realized by existing home owners who refinanced into an FHA loan. That is significant savings over the life of the loan.

The annual Mortgage Insurance Premium is paid on top of principal, interest and insurance every month until the end of the loan. 

According to the White House, the lowered premiums will help more than 800,000 home owners save on their monthly mortgage costs and enable up to 250,000 new home buyers to purchase a home. (Source: www.zillow.blog)

Annual Savings After the Reduction in FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums on a $175k 30-yr. Fixed Home Loan 
 Year 3.5% Down5% Down
 1 Year $818 $805
 5 Years $3,932 $3,863
 10 Years $7,421 $7,276
 20 Years $12,669 $12,375
 30 Years $14,709 $14,338
Source: www.zillow.com

If you have any questions with the new FHA rule, do not hesitate to contact me.  

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

SMART HOME GADGETS


Smart home gadgets are making life easier and more convenient. Whether you are in the office or on vacation, your smart home gadgets will alert you on what's going on using your smartphone, tablet or computer. Not only they provide convenience, they also provide some energy efficient savings. 


SMART HOME THERMOSTATS
Save your hard earned money on rising monthly electric bills by investing on programmable thermostat. You can program your home temperature from this smart device for every hour of every day. Your thermostat will save you money by automatically adjusting the temperature when you're not at home or asleep. According to Nest's website, Programmable thermostat can cut heating costs by 20%.

SMART SMOKE DETECTORS 
The latest smart smoke detector can tell you whether you're in immediate danger or not. If you're not at home, you can get a message on your cellphone telling you if there's a problem.

EASY TO USE WEBCAMS
The new technology in webcam allows you to monitor your home and communicate with older kids or pets when you're out of the house. You can see what's going on in your house from your smartphone, tablet or computer 24/7. You can also record the footage to be retrieved at a later time. 
 
Smart home technology can easily be installed in a newly constructed home as an added bonus. Spinell Homes,
Alaska's #1 Home Builder, has 14 different communities and floor plans ranging from townhouse style condos, 
single-family homes, and multifamily properties that can be customized to a buyer's needs and wants. This 
includes adding smart home gadgets and energy efficient options.  2 of their latest projects are Dove Tree and Nadine Park. Both are centrally located - just minutes from downtown Anchorage.

Using these smart home devices can save you time and energy bills and put more money aside for things like a family vacation or other expenses. If you want to know more, don't hesitate to contact me.