In an ever-tightening real estate market, little things can mean the difference between selling your home quickly at its asking price or having it linger on the market for weeks before selling well below its original price.

Because of this, real estate agents are stressing the importance of curb appeal and improving the look of the home’s interior to be more appealing to potential buyers. While many sellers frequently complete this work on their own, others are turning to professional home stagers.

Professional home stagers may offer many advantages over do-it-yourself.

First, home stagers offer a sense of objectivity sellers may lack. When sellers look at their own house, their views may be filtered by their memories and not notice a something that may turn a potential buyer off. For example, sellers may look at closet wall and fondly remember how they tracked their youngest son’s growth by making a crayon mark on the wall every six months. However, a potential buyer could look at the same wall and see a dirty house, and wonder if there are any other problems hidden beneath the surface.

Second, most home buyers stay up-to-date on current design trends and have developed a keen eye for what looks sell—and what doesn’t. They understand that simple things like adding a colorful bouquet, removing a chair in a cramped room or rearranging pictures can quickly brighten a room and make it appealing to homebuyers.

Professional home stagers offer a variety of services, ranging from simply conducting an evaluation, to actually completing the staging process, while others may even bring in contemporary furniture to update the look of a home.

While costs for home staging vary depending on the services used and the sellers’ location, studies seem to indicate results justify the cost. A recent U.S. Housing and Urban Development report revealed that staged homes generally sell for 15-percent more than similar homes that are not staged, according to a fact sheet provided by homestagingresource.com.

By David Plowman

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When buying a house, you will undoubtedly need to take out a mortgage. As you look for one, you will quickly realize that getting a bank to loan you the money for the biggest investment you’ll ever make is no easy task. You quickly realize that are many mortgage pitfalls you need to steer clear of in order to get the best deal possible. To help you find the way, we’ve provided a few pointers:

• Know your credit history. Any lender you work with is going to check your credit history and your credit score, so you should do the same, long before you fill out a loan application. Errors can and do happen, so should be familiar with your history and correct any errors before potential lenders look at your history.
• Know if you eligible for homebuyer programs. Most areas will offer government-sponsored first-time homebuyer programs that may offer better loans rates than you’d find elsewhere. Some programs may also offer loan options for people with damaged credit.
• Get pre-approved for a loan. There is a big difference between “pre-qualified” and “pre-approved.” A pre-qualification is a general review of your income and debts, usually based solely on information you provide the mortgage company which gives you an idea of how much of a loan you could receive. The process to be pre-approved is more complex. You will generally have to provide proof of your income and debts (in the form of tax returns, pay stubs and credit information. The potential lender will also check your credit history. If you complete this process successfully, the lender will provide a written verification that they will actually loan you the money, pending appraisal, title report and purchase contract. In almost all cases, a seller would opt to sell to someone who is pre-approved for a loan as opposed to someone who is just pre-qualified.
• Borrow what you can afford to pay back. Just because you are approved for a loan, doesn’t mean you can afford the monthly payments. Don’t opt to get the maximum loan amount you can only find every cent you make has to go back into making your mortgage payments.
• Shop around for the best rate. Just as your would shop at different retailers for different rates for similar products, lenders may offer different rates for the same loan. Check with several companies to know you are getting the best deal. (Click here for more information on shopping for a loan.)
• Know what you are getting charged for. Lenders may add a litany of fees to their loan amount. When you shop for a loan, ask about any miscellaneous fees in addition to the interest rate and any points you may have to pay.
• Budget for closing costs. It is a reserve corollary of the adage “you need money to make money.” When it comes to getting a home loan, “you need to pay money to lend money.” The day you close on your home and sign the final loan papers can be a very expensive day. You may need to pay for attorney’s fees, taxes, prepaid homeowner’s insurance, the miscellaneous lender’s fees discussed above and points. Your lender should give you a solid estimate of all the closing fees involved, but you should start a savings fund for those fees well before then.
• Keep a savings reserve. With all of the home buying charges and the monthly payments, it might seem like you are hemorrhaging money. While that may be the case, you should also make sure you have some emergency reserves. You need to be prepared if the roof on your new home suddenly springs a leak or if the air conditioning goes on the fritz. If you are already tapped out by buying the home, e such an emergency could turn into disaster.

When looking for a home mortgage, being prepared could save you time and money.

By David Plowman

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If you are looking to buy a new house, one of the first things you will want to do is to determine how much a house you can afford. We’ve included a home affordability calculator here. in order to get an accurate estimate you will need to take a careful review of your finances and to calculate your income, expenses and outstanding debt.

Here’s a quick guide on how to make those calculations.

1. Calculate your income.
• Add up your monthly salary, and if applicable, your co-borrowers salary. If you or your co-borrower expects your incomes to change in the next few years, work that into the calculation. But be both realistic and conservative with these projections. For instance, if you are currently a paralegal about to pass the bar and become a full-fledged lawyer in a year, you should work the anticipated salary increase into your projections. But be careful not to over-estimate your salary projections. For instance, it is much better to project a $2,500 salary hike next year and actually receive a $5,000 raise than vice-versa.
• Include any income you expect to receive from investment dividends or interest payments.
2. Calculate your Debt.
• Track all of your monthly expenses. Include such things as rent (or mortgage payments if you are already a home owner), Utilities, car expenses, insurance, as well as any monthly child support payments.
• Also include your monthly payments on any outstanding debts you have, such as a student loan, car payment, credit cards or another form of personal debt. Of course, if you are close to paying off a debt, make sure you include that in your long-term projections. For example, if you are10 months away from making your last payment on your car loan, figure that the amount of that payment will be going to your mortgage after that period.

By taking a fair and honest assessment of your income and debts, you will be able to more effectively use a home affordability calculator, and will have a better estimate of what you can afford.

By David Plowman

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