Creating Curb Appeal

The following are some suggested project and tips—both large and small—for homeowners looking to spruce their homes up this summer.

Patios and Decks

Decks and patios are among the most popular summer remodeling ideas. There are various factors to take into consideration when deciding on whether a patio or deck is the most appropriate project to undertake. Such factors include soil condition and consistency, site terrain, use, capacity and privacy, as well as the cost and maintenance you are willing to put up with.

Home Maintenance
Throughout the seasons, your home has taken good care of you and your family and now is the best time to give back.

With a checklist in hand, go through your property to evaluate areas that need mending or replacement. This list will prove very helpful when contacting a contractor or handyman for maintenance/repair services. Some common maintenance and repair include:

• Waterproofing the basement
• Re-caulking and replacing weather-striping
• Cleaning and sealing wooden decks
• Trimming bushes and trees
• Realigning downspouts and gutters
• Repairing the roof
• Cleaning the pool
• Mending the fence
• Maintenance of HVAC systems

Energy-Efficient Renovation
An energy-efficient summer remodel is a worthwhile endeavor as it will result in years of savings on your energy bills. Some of the common items you can buy and integrate into your energy-efficient renovation include:

• Insulation systems and materials
• Roofs that resist heat gain
• Biomass-burning stoves
• Energy-efficient windows
• HVAC systems with the highest efficiency tier
• Solar panels
• Fuel cells
• Geothermal heat pumps
• Wind energy systems

Taking on one (or more!) of these projects is a great way to give back to your home this summer…and, in some cases, save you a bit of money in the long run, too!

3. Check Your Cash Situation. Talk to a mortgage broker about the different loan options to identify the amount of cash on hand you will need to close. Whether you are aiming to put down 20% of the home’s price for a conventional loan, or 3% or more for a loan from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA or the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, you will also need to cover fees and closing costs, which can run up to 5% of the mortgage amount.

4. Associated Costs. Remember that homeowners, unlike renters, must pay property taxes each year – and pay for any needed repairs or upgrades. Be sure to leave yourself a little financial wiggle room in order to meet these expected – and sometimes unexpected – expenses.

If you would like more information about preparing to buy a home, please call me. 

With summer officially upon us, many homeowners will be confronted with rising electric bills as fans and air conditioners kick into high gear in an effort to keep cool. Demand for electricity can also increase if you have house guests or children home for the summer.

As a member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, I have access to lots of great ideas for planning ahead to control energy costs this summer. The following tips are from the experts at Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G):

• Use ceiling fans in the counter-clockwise direction to create a wind-chill effect, making you feel cooler. Also, whole-house fans that bring in cooler night-time air can pre-cool a house and reduce energy use in the daytime if heat is kept out by closing windows and shades.
• Install a programmable thermostat. If health conditions permit, raise the setting from 73 to 78 degrees. You can save 3-5% on your air conditioning costs for each degree you raise the thermostat.
• Close doors leading to uncooled parts of your home. If you have central air conditioning, close off vents to unused rooms and be sure to keep filters clean.
• Plant shade trees close to the house on the South and West sides.
• Seal holes and cracks around doors and windows. Eliminate air leaks between window air conditioners and windows with foam insulation or weather-stripping.
• Turn off power sources. TVs, computers and other electronic devices draw power when they are in standby mode or turned off but still plugged in. Plug electronics into power strips and turn off the power switch when the items are not in use.
• Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), which use 75% less electricity and burn more coolly than incandescent bulbs. Keep in mind that CFLs are especially handy in hard-to-reach fixtures and won't need to be replaced for about five years.
• Use timers and motion detectors on indoor and outdoor lighting.
• Delay heat-producing tasks such as laundry until later in the day. Wash full loads, using cold water whenever possible.
• Run the dishwasher at night, using the shortest cycle that will get the dishes clean. If manufacturers' directions permit, turn the dishwasher off before the dry cycle or use the air dry feature if your machine has one.
• Take short showers as they use less hot water than a bath.
• Replace old appliances with new energy efficient Energy Star appliances.
• Unplug the extra refrigerator in your garage or basement and use it only when necessary. Refrigerators that are only 10 years old can use twice as much electricity as new Energy Star labeled models.

As you know, buying or selling a house is one of the biggest financial decisions most people will ever make. Getting the best bargain in the purchase or making the most profit on the sale give buyers and sellers so much to think about that many may never stop to consider keeping that old house – or buying another – as an income-generating property. But the rewards, in savings, profits and problem-solving, can be high.

One option for buyers who otherwise might consider home prices beyond their reach is the property that pays for itself: a house you live in part of and rent the rest of. This offers not only an obvious balance of cost and income, but perhaps lesser-known benefits in taxes and mortgage. The rental units can be depreciated over time; considered to offset the rental income, this can lower your taxes on that income. At the same time, the rent's addition to your finances helps you qualify for a larger mortgage. Of course you'll want to decide if the demands of being a live-in landlord are for you (and find out if rent-control laws in your area might limit the return on your investment).

If being an offsite landlord is more appealing, you could always keep your current home as a rental after you move into the new one. Your long-tern familiarity with the home's features and condition could lend a certain confidence both to yourself and your potential tenants. As with any investment property, you'll first want to calculate whether the rental income will cover the current expenses. Of course being a long-distance landlord has its headaches too, so you have to enjoy the challenge and be ready to meet the needs.

Owning an income-generating property is not for everyone, but – from younger buyers offsetting their purchase costs, to seniors easing the expenses of their retirement years – it can be for all kinds of people. I would be happy to talk to you about whether or not a rental property would be double trouble or two times the success.

There are currently 8,155 active single family homes on the Greater Fairfield County Consolidated Multiple Listing System. So far this year, there have been 2,006 single family closed sales.  This represents a unit sales increase of 31% vs. the first four months of 2009. The median selling price was $375,000, which is an over-all increase of 8% vs. those that sold during the first four months of 2009.

There are currently 799 active single family homes on the market over $2MM and 390 of those are over $3MM. In the first four months of 2010 there were 66 closed sales over $2MM versus only 33 closed sales over $2MM during the same time frame last year. That is a 100% increase in sales in that price range.

There are 1,433 single family homes with fully executed contracts waiting to close.  The median list price of those homes is $435,000. There are 666 properties with accepted offers.  The median list price of those with accepted offers is $459,900. This means that the list price of the most recent properties to get accepted offers is continuing to increase.  If this price continues to track up, it would appear as though the median selling price is stabilizing and there is more activity in the higher price ranges.

Email me for Market Statistics Specific to your town and Property.

There are currently 7,997 active single family homes on the Greater Fairfield County Consolidated Multiple Listing System. So far this year, there have been 1,396 single family closed sales.  This represents a unit sales increase of 28% vs. the first three months of 2009. The median selling price of single family homes on the Consolidated Multiple Listing System this year was $373,500 which is an over-all increase of 12% vs. those that sold during the first three months of 2009.

There are currently 739 active single family homes on the market over $2MM and 377 of those are over $3MM. In the first three months of 2010 there were 47 closed sales over $2MM versus only 34 closed sales over $2MM during the same time frame last year. That is a 38% increase in sales in that price range.

There are 1,187 single family homes with fully executed contracts waiting to close.  The median list price of those homes is $399,000. There are 806 properties with accepted offers.  The median list price of those with accepted offers is $424,000. This means that the list price of the most recent properties to get accepted offers is continuing to increase.  If this price continues to track up, it would appear as though the median selling price is stabilizing and will be either flat or slightly higher during the second quarter of 2010 vs. the median selling price during 2009.

Contact me for market statistics specific to your town and neighborhood as they may vary greatly from town to town and even neighborhood to neighborhood.

We have seen positive market activity over the past few months. In Fairfield County Single family homes, we experienced an increase in both median sales price and unit sales in January and February 2010 vs. 2009.  This is a continued indication of stabilization of the Single Family home market in Fairfield County.

There are currently 7,183 active single family homes on the Greater Fairfield county Consolidated Multiple Listing System. So far this year, there have been 809 single family closed sales.  This represents a unit sales increase of 30% vs. the first two months of 2009. The median selling price in 2010 was $370,000 which represents a 10% increase vs. the first two months of 2009.

The number of units sold over $2MM nearly doubled and the number of sales over $3MM tripled! There are currently 670 homes on the market over $2MM and 345 over $3MM. As you can see, the inventory is still substantial.

There are 1,011 single family homes with fully executed contracts waiting to close.  The median list price of those homes is $369,000.  There are 641 properties with accepted offers.  The median list price of those with accepted offers is $409,000, higher than the list price of those homes with fully executed contracts. These are important numbers, which I report each month, because they help us to project the trend in the current sales price during the upcoming months. In this case it looks as though the median sales price is stabilizing and will be either flat or slightly higher during the first few months of 2010 vs. the median sales price during 2009.

Contact me for the market statistics specific to your town and neighborhood as they may vary greatly from town to town and even neighborhood to neighborhood.

The Connecticut

I joined over 600 REALTORS® at the Capitol and met with State Senators and Representatives to let them know our views on the issues that affect home ownership.

There was a positive increase in market activity in the first month of this year. I am pleased to report the January 2010 sales numbers for Fairfield County which reveal increases in both units and in the median sales price vs. January 2009. This is a continued indication of stabilization of the Single Family home market in Fairfield County.

There are currently 6497 active single family homes on the Greater Fairfield county Consolidated Multiple Listing System. In January of 2010 we had 436 closed sales which represented a unit sales increase of 35% vs. January, 2009. The median selling price in January, 2010 for single family homes on the Consolidated Multiple Listing System was $388,950, which is an over-all increase of 16% vs. January 2009.

Although single family home sales among the upper price tier continue to lag, we did see some very positive sales numbers in January 2010 as compared to January, 2009.  There were 16 closed sales in January 2010 over $2MM vs. 5 closed sales over $2MM in January, 2009. There were 8 sales over $3MM in January 2010 and only 1 sale over $3MM in January, 2009.

There are 909 single family homes with fully executed contracts waiting to close.  The median list price of those homes is $359,900. There are 516 properties with accepted offers.  The median list price of those with accepted offers is $399,000. These are important numbers, which I report each month, because they help us to project the trend in the current sales price during the upcoming months. In this case it looks as though the median sales price is stabilizing and will be either flat or slightly higher during the first few months of 2010 vs. the median sales price during 2009.

I encourage our readers to contact me for the market statistics specific to their town and neighborhood as they may vary greatly from town to town and even neighborhood to neighborhood. If our readers wish to receive market statistics monthly via email they can email me at Cheryl@CSDGroup.com.

For the aspiring homeowner, there are always some unknowns to navigate. For home-seekers looking to buy a newly-constructed home, they must also contend with fierce competition, as well as the uncertainties of buying a house, in many cases, that doesn't even exist yet.

Heightened demand has accelerated new construction. Advancing technology has allowed the selection of homes based on virtual tours of the future home's plans. Such options can help the consumer build their house to their every preference, while making it as accommodating in real life as it is promising on paper.

There are ways to minimize such uncertainties and focus on the new home's potential rather than potential problems – and these aren't limited to the structure itself. Many of these common sense preparations are ones in which the services of a real estate sales professional, such as an ERA Select Homes Real Estate professional, can be a major help and a big relief. At the most basic level, such a professional can help you determine whether it's the newly-built or the pre-existing home that best suits your search.

Start from scratch. Your agent can help you decide what design options not only fulfill your needs but best fit your budget and your home's resale value. He or she can also help you to familiarize yourself with the new neighborhood; guide you throughout the construction process; and get you set up with crucial services like moving companies (one of many major tasks a nationally-known business can group in a single program, such as ERA Real Estate's Select Services).

Check into the builder's track record. You can do this by visiting other developments they've constructed and by speaking with the residents. Also, you may want to contact the Better Business Bureau to learn about their reputation and how long they've been in operation.

Know the neighborhood. Visit your local town planning office and look into what will be built nearby in the near future – where there's some construction growth there may be more, and you'll want to decide what kinds you wish to live around.

Understand what's in your contract. Do what you can to protect a favorable mortgage rate from the financial fluctuations that can occur over the course of construction. Get a thorough home inspection. And, obtain the most reliable professionals to help you in these potentially complicated tasks.

Determine if "new is for you." Despite the shiny, new bells and whistles associated with a new home, you might prefer an existing house. Purchasers of existing homes avoid contributing to suburban sprawl, enjoy the stability of established neighborhoods and infrastructures, and don't need to worry about today's fast-paced home construction industry. New home buyers, on the other hand, may be most attracted to the ease of brand-new homes with minimal maintenance concerns and a pre-planned neighborhood structure.

One happy medium an agent might steer you toward is the brand-new home that's already built. While this may be a rarity in a booming market, your real estate professional can help find one for you that can help eliminate surprises. Not to mention, it will likely fast-forward passed the inconvenience of other unfinished homes still in the construction phase around you.

With the right preparation and advice, the new-home route can lead to ready-made happiness rather than built-in headaches.

The tax credit extension for both first time buyers and trade up buyers is a real boost to the marketplace.  Buyers and Sellers should both be well prepared and aware of market conditions before making or negotiating offers. Time is valuable and we want our clients to be very capable of maximizing the benefits that are available to them.

This first quarter of 2010 will be driven by the tax incentives which will create stronger competition for inventory and because of the increased activity below $1,000,000, the median selling price is likely to be lowered.  That said, buyers should work with their agent and their loan originator to be completely pre-approved for their mortgage. Pre-approved buyers command more confidence from sellers, especially when there are multiple offers on the table. In this market, many sellers will not consider an offer without a pre-approval from the buyer.

Market Advice for Buyers & Sellers

In most cases an offer is written with standard contingencies including a home inspection and satisfactory appraisal. A seller can have their own inspections done prior to marketing so they have the time to repair or replace items. That will shorten the time from offer to closing or avoid having a buyer get discouraged and walk-away because of what they might perceive as deferred maintenance. A seller can also have an appraiser evaluate their home so they have a good idea of what a bank will approve as a selling price. As a bonus, the seller will have the inspection report and appraisal in their back pocket when it comes time to negotiate a selling price and terms.

My advice to sellers is to review their current market position with their agent.  Take a close look at year-end sales to arrive at a realistic and competitive list price. Sellers need to do what’s necessary to attract serious buyers to get their property sold. Realtors® have seen the competitive inventory and therefore can make good suggestions on how the seller can help make their home stand out above the rest.

Market Statistics

Although single family home sales in 2009 were slightly slower than sales in 2008, and the median sales price was less, we did see a positive market increase in the last 4 months of the year. I am pleased to report the 2009 year-end statistics which include an increase in sales and a decrease in inventory which leads me to believe the Single Family home market in Fairfield County is stabilizing!!!

There are currently 5973 active single family homes on the Consolidated Multiple Listing System. In 2009 we had 6753 closed sales.  That represents a unit sales decrease of only 4% versus 2008. The result is a 10 ½ month supply of homes currently on the market. The median selling price for single family homes on the Consolidated Multiple Listing System in 2009 was $377,000, which is an over-all decrease of 12% from 2008.

By far, single family home sales among the upper tier have been most affected by economic conditions. We currently have a 3 year supply of single family homes over $2MM on the Consolidated Multiple Listing System and a 4 year supply of homes over $3MM.

There are 813 single family homes with fully executed contracts waiting to close.  The median list price of those homes is $339,000. There are 424 properties with accepted offers.  The median list price of those with accepted offers is $399,000. These are important numbers, which I report each month, because they help us to determine the direction of the market. In this case we can estimate that the median sales price in the first few months of 2010 will be flat or slightly higher than the median sales price of 2009.

I encourage our readers to contact me for market statistics specific to their town and neighborhood as they vary greatly from town to town and even neighborhood to neighborhood. Please contact me if you wish to receive market statistics monthly via email or if you wish to receive a market snap shot specific to your property’s address.

Your move may be simple or complex, depending on your situation, including how much you own, how far you’re moving, and how many people are moving with you. In any case, it’s a good idea to start with a thorough moving checklist that covers all the possible bases, including important time frames.

Download REBAC’s moving checklist, As you review the checklist, you’ll also find that these additional resources provide valuable shortcuts:

• Changing your address—an online tool from the U.S. Postal Service
• Tax-deductible moving expenses—guidelines from the Internal Revenue Service

If you are moving in or out of Fairfield County and are looking for a moving company, contact me. I have an extensive database from over 22 years in the real estate business.  I would be happy to give you names and phone numbers of local companies as well as feedback we have received from past clients who have their services.

I offer a FREE moving truck as a valuable service to my clients as well as charitable organizations* for use in Fairfield County. Learn more about the Cheryl Scott-Daniels Group Smart Move Vehicle. *Some restrictions apply.

Visit REBAC.net for more information on the home buying process.

As important a landmark as buying a home is in people's lives, you'd be surprised at how much of it can turn on snap decisions. If you're selling a house you'll have to put careful thought into customers' first impressions, because many sales will be made or lost before they reach the front door – or as soon as they walk through it.

First consider "curb appeal" – the feeling customers get from the upkeep of the house and grounds, and how comfortable this makes them imagining themselves as a resident. You want to do everything you can to make them see your house as their house, both outside and in.

A new paint job is an investment that will more than pay for itself, and neat landscaping – trimmed shrubs, new flowers – puts your prospective buyers in just the right frame of mind. Inside, kitchens and bathrooms should be in sparkling condition – these rooms are known to be what makes up many home-seekers' minds. Removal of odors like pet smells and smoke will lessen distractions for customers you want focusing on your home's possibilities, and clearing of clutter is crucial.

The less belongings you have crowding your rooms and closets, the bigger the home will appear, and the easier it will be for potential buyers to envision placing their own possessions there. Put some things in storage if you need to, or hold a garage sale to help cut down on some of the build-up you were going to clear out for moving anyway (just hold it before buyers can see the piles on your lawn or the cars lined up on an otherwise peaceful street). For buyers picturing themselves in your home, it's also good to present the house in as general taste as possible – personal memorabilia, collectibles, and eccentric wall colors and furnishings should go out with the clutter. Repainting rooms in a neutral white also helps convey the sense of spaciousness.

Clean windows, fresh flowers, and other small details with big impact – they're what you want to remember. From major improvements which guarantee a return on your investment, to subtle touches that tip the scales in your favor, the features of a house that we often take for granted can be the ones that determine your homeselling success. According to the National Association of Realtors®, curb appeal alone accounts for half of all home sales.

A little effort now saves you a lengthy process later. First impressions will expedite the sale, and securing the services of a qualified Realtor® will make it all the surer. A real estate professional can guide you in all the above matters and more, from supplying a checklist of presentation tips, to recommending affordable painting contractors from his or her industry connections, to helping you rearrange the furniture. Whatever it takes, we can give you confidence that, for some buyer soon, the showing of your home will be love at first sight.

Durning the Holiday Season more than ever, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progess possible.

A sincere Thank you and Best Wishes for a Healthy and Properous New Year!