Are you struggling to sell your home because your housing market is in a recession? Don’t feel overwhelmed if your house has been on the market for several months with no buyers. There are many people across the United States that are facing the same problems your are. Here are some tips and tricks to ensure you sell your house during the recession. Alleviate as many concerns a buyer may have. Buyers often have many concerns when purchasing a house including closing cost, realtors cost, and home inspections just to name a few. By eliminating as many of these as possible it will help you chances of closing the real estate deal. Here are some key elements to helping put your potential buyer’s minds at ease. -Have your house inspected by a certified home inspector. -If you are not on a city water supply have your septic tank inspected. -Gather any existing warranties on home appliances that will be sold with the house. Another great way to entice buyers is to throw something extra in with the house. Houses built on lakes or canals often come with boats of jet skis, this will give your house a differential advantage over other houses in your neighborhood. Cars trucks and RV’s have also been noted to be sold with houses on several occasions. Get an idea of what other houses of similar size and style are selling for in your neighborhood. Also look for similar house that have sold within the last 2 months this will give you a better idea of the current market value of your home. After deciding what your house is worth, decide what sale price you are willing to let the house go for. Since it is a buyers market you may want to give a 3-5% discount off the market value of your home. This will give you a competitive edge over other houses in your neighborhood. It’s no secret that buyers are in the market for a green home. Installing water saving toilets and appliances can help to sway buyers to pay more because of money that will be saved later on. A water saving or dual flush toiletcan save a family of 4 as much as 15,000 gallons of water a year over a conventional toilet. Upgrading windows and doors to be more energy efficient will also help when selling your home. Another selling point for homes is luxury appliances. Hot tubs have been helping to selling homes for the last twenty years or so, however there are new better luxury appliances on the market. Whirlpool bathtubs have become common place in the master bathroom so buyers are looking for a master bath with at least a whirlpool bathtub. There have been many innovations in luxury appliances over the last 10 years. Whirlpool bathtubs now have built in features like air massage jets, fm radio, television monitors and more. Steam showers are another Luxury appliance that has stormed the bathroom remodeling industry. Modular steam showers cost between two and five thousand dollars and can be installed in under a day. These are a great replacement for standing shower stalls and are what potential buyers are looking for. Selling your house during a recession doesn’t have to mean that you loose out. Carefully following this advice will help to maximize the profitability of your house, and also eliminate many of the buyers concerns and wants when looking to by a new home.
Posts Tagged ‘Tips’
Tips to Help Sell Your Home During a Recession
Sunday, January 24th, 2010Cleaning Tips for Used Boats
Sunday, December 6th, 2009It is amazing how quickly how boats can become so dirty. Here are a few tips to bring back that new boat look.
Wash the outside with a mild detergent. Sometimes it’s tempting to whip out the industrial cleaner, but believe me it will only cost you more time in the future. Strong cleaners remove the wax, leaving the finish vulnerable to dirt and the harmful rays of the sun. Marine stores sell detergents that are made especially for boat finishes. These do a good job of cleaning and won’t remove so much of the wax. Some of these detergents may even contain wax for extra protection.
Wax your boat. This doesn’t have to be done each time you wash, but the more you wax the longer the finish will look new. While the surface of a fiberglass boat may appear slick and shiny, if you were to look at it under a microscope you would see that it is actually rough and has many pits and flaws. When you apply wax these microscopic pits are filled in leaving the surface smooth and glossy. Your boat should be waxed in the spring before commissioning and in the fall before storing it in the winter. This is the minimum to maintain your boat in a new looking condition.
Mold and mildew are problems that can be kept under check if you take a little time to keep the inside of your boat clean. They like to grow on surfaces that are dirty. If you already have mildew it is not so easy to remove. A mild solution of bleach and water will kill the mildew on the hard shiny surfaces, however never use these on vinyl seats or canvas boat tops. The stitching used in these products can be deteriorated causing them to fall apart. Believe me I know I just spent over $500.00 to get my canvas repaired when all the zippers and stitching started to fall apart. For use on these types of materials I suggest Amazon’s Mildew Stain Away, also available at boating supply stores. This product will not clean as well as bleach, but it does a better job of not hurting your stitching.
Keeping the upholstery looking good is simple if you keep a good leather and vinyl protectant applied after each use. These are easy to apply, take only a few minutes, and will extend the life of the upholstery these protectants penatrate and moisturize the vinyl helping to prevent drying and cracking. Some even have a type of sunblock to help prevent fading.
Don’t forget the windshield. Sometimes after a day on the water it becomes almost impossible to see through your windshield. Sand, salt spray, and tanning lotions seem to be attracted to this part of your boat like a magnet. After washing and drying clean the windshield with a good glass cleaner and then apply rain-x. Just like the fiberglass, the windshield also has microscopic pits. Rain-x fills these in and makes the surface slick so that it stays cleaner longer.
While boating is a pleasurable way to spend a summer day, it is also very exhausting and you may not feel like cleaning your boat when you get home. Just remember keeping it in a “new boat” condition will increase the resale value and shorten the time it takes to sell your boat.