8 Tips for Adding Curb Appeal and Value to Your Home

By: Pat Curry

Appraisers and real estate agents offer advice for adding curb appeal that both preserves value and attracts potential buyers.
Effort: Med Up to 1 wk Investment: Med Up to $5,000

Curb appeal has always been important for home sellers. With the vast majority of today’s home buyers starting their search on the Internet, the appearance of your property is more critical than ever. You only have a few seconds to catch their attention as they scroll through listings online to get them to stop and take a closer look.

But the role of curb appeal goes beyond just making a good first impression. The way your house looks from the street can impact its value. It can also shorten the time it takes to sell your house.

We asked real estate agents, appraisers, home stagers, landscape designers, and home inspectors which curb appeal projects offer the most value when your house is on the market, both in terms of its marketability and dollars. Here is what they told us:

1. Paint the house.Hands down, the most commonly offered curb appeal advice from our real estate pros and appraisers is to give the exterior of your home a good paint job. Buyers will instantly notice it and appraisers will note it on the valuation.

“Paint is probably the number one thing inside and out,” says Frank Lucco, managing partner of Houston-based IRR-Residential Appraisers and Consultants. “I’d give additional value for that. If you’re under two years remaining life (on the paint job), paint the exterior because it tends to show wear badly.”

Just make sure you stay within the range of accepted colors for your market. A house that’s painted a wildly different color from its competition will be marked down in value by appraisers.

2. Have the house washed.Before you make the investment in a paint job, though, take a good look at the house. If it’s got mildew or general grunge, just washing the house could make a world of difference, says Valerie Torelli, a California real estate agent with a background in accounting.

Before she puts a house on the market, Torelli often does exterior makeovers on her clients’ homes, a service she pays for herself to get higher selling prices. Overall, she says her goal is to spend less than $5,000, with a goal of generating an extra $10,000 to $15,000 on the sale price.

Torelli specifies pressure-washing—a job that should be left to professionals. Pressure washing makes the house look “bright and clean in addition to getting rid of unsightly things like cobwebs, which may not be seen from the yard but will detract from the home’s cleanliness when seen up close,” she says.

The cost to have a professional cleaning should be a few hundred dollars—a fraction of the cost of having the house painted.

3. Trim the shrubs and green up the yard.California real estate agent Valerie Torelli says she puts a lot of emphasis on landscaping, such as cutting down overgrown bushes and replacing them with leafy plants and annuals mulched with beautiful reddish-brown bark. “It runs me $30 to $50,” says Torelli. “Do you get a return on your money? Absolutely. It sucks people in.”

You also don’t want bare spots. Take the time to fertilize the yard, throw out some grass seed, and if need be, add some sod.

4. Add a splash of color.It could be a flower bed of annuals by the mailbox, a paint job for the front door, or a brightly colored bench or an Adirondack chair. “You can get a cute little bench at Home Depot for $99,“ Torelli notes. “Spray paint it bright red or blue and set it in the yard or on the front porch.”

It’s not a bad idea, but don’t plan on getting extra points from an appraiser for a red bench, says John Bredemeyer, president of Realcorp in Omaha. “It’s difficult to quantify, but it does make a home sell more quickly,” Bredemeyer says. “Maybe yours sold a couple weeks faster than the house down the street. That’s the best way to look at these things.”

5. Add a fancy mailbox and house numbers.An upscale mail box and architectural house numbers or an address plaque can give your house a distinctive look that stands out from everyone else on the block. Torelli makes them a part of her exterior makeovers “I’ve gotten those hand-painted mailboxes,” she says. “A nice one runs you $40 to $50.” Architectural house numbers may run as high as a few hundred dollars.

6. Repair or clean the roof.
Springfield, Va.-based home inspector and former builder Reggie Marston says the roof is one of the first things he looks at in assessing the condition of a home. He’ll look at other houses in the neighborhood to see if there are a lot of replaced roofs and see if the subject house has one as well. If not, he’ll look for curls in the shingles or missing shingles. “I’m looking at the roof for end-of-life expectancy,” he says.

You can pay for roof repairs now, or pay for them later in a lower appraisal; appraisers will mark down the value by the cost of the repair. That could knock thousands of dollars off your appraisal. According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2010-2011 Cost vs. Value Report, the average cost of a new asphalt shingle roof is about $21,500.

“Roofs are issues,” Lucco says. “You won’t throw money away on that job. You gotta have a decent roof.”

Stains and plant matter, such as moss, can be handled with cleaning. It’s a job that can often be done in a day for a few hundred dollars, and makes the roof look like new. It’s not a DIY project; call a professional with the right tools to clean it without damaging it.

7. Put up a fence.A picket fence with a garden gate to frame the yard is an asset. A fence has more impact in a family-oriented neighborhood than an upscale retirement community, Bredemeyer says, but in most instances, appraisers will give extra value for one, as long as it’s in good condition. “Day in a day out, a fence is a plus,“ Bredemeyer says. Expect to pay $2,000 to $3,500 for a professionally installed gated picket fence 3 feet high and 100 feet long.

8. Perform routine maintenance and cleaning.Nothing sets off subconscious alarms like hanging gutters, missing bricks from the front steps, or lawn tools rusting in the bushes. It makes even the professionals question what else hasn’t been taken care of.

“A house is worth less if the maintenance isn’t done,” Lucco says. “Those little things can add up and be a very big detractor. When people say, ‘I’d buy it if it weren’t for all the deferred maintenance,’ what they’re really saying is, ‘I’d still buy it if you reduce the price.’”

Georgia-based freelance writer Pat Curry has covered housing and real estate for consumer and trade publications for more than a decade, including covering new home sales and marketing for BUILDER, the magazine of the National Association of Home Builders.

MARKET TURNAROUND UNDERWAY

Green shoots appearing in the Real Estate Market?


I'm seeing some interesting signs which in my experience and opinion point towards a turnaround in the local scene. IN the past downturns I noted things which later proved to be signals that things are turning around. My personal observation in past cycles has been that marginal properties , such as those on busy streets or with other incurable defects , begin to sell. THAT is happening all over the West Valley. Whether the home is on Victory Boulevard or has a backyard that is overlooked by a multi-story commercial building, these properties are starting exhibit "SOLD" signs. The next sign is a little more subtle and not apparent to the casual viewer. I'm seeing investment groups from the East Coast, Malaysia and China, put together by guys like Goldman Sachs, buying properties for ALL CASH at LIST PRICE or ABOVE LIST PRICE! What this indicates is that "hot money" sees value (and upside) in local properties and is buying with an eye towards future appreciation. NOT FLIPS. They plan to get cash flow as a rental and sell in a future appreciating market. These guys are not where they are today by being wrong. Bear that in mind before you tell me Dr. Housing Bubble or Nouriel Roubini says there's more downside to come. Finally, a sure sign that something is happening is that LOTS , dirt unimproved lots, are starting to sell. I'm working with a builder right now and we are on the front line with this. About 4 out of the 15 lots we were interested in since November have sold. People don't buy lots unless they are going to build for the most part, so this indicates there will be some action in the previously moribund construction trades. So, things are looking up!
If you'd like to speak with me regarding buying or selling into this newly dynamic market, I'm available @ (805) 907-5211.

New-home Trends for 2011

It's that time of year again when we see "Hot Trend Predictions For Next Year". It's always fun to go back and see what was predicted in the past. The following home trend predictions seem pretty prescient to me. ( Hat Tip to Paula Alcazar my Fellow ZIP Team mate for this info)

The housing market may be down, but it's not out. Houses continue to be built across the nation, especially homes aimed at first-time buyers. But the Great Recession has limited the bells and whistles that many people demanded under their new roof even four years ago. Would-be homebuyers want — and are getting — different things from "home sweet home" today.

From front porches to LED lights, here are the top six things experts say are trendy in new homes for 2011. How does next year's wish list compare to yours?



1. Smaller homes that 'live' the same
"One big trend is the smaller homes," says David Barista, editor-in-chief of Professional Builder and Custom Builder magazines. In fact, the median size of new U.S. homes fell from 2,277 square feet in 2007 to 2,135 square feet in 2009, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

"There's a couple drivers here," Barista says. "I don't think buyers are looking for that opulence of several years ago; they're looking for something more modest. (But) they still want the amenities and the spaces" in these smaller homes.

So he's not seeing the number of rooms in a home being cut; instead, the size of the rooms — and the overall home size — is shrinking 10% to 15%. That, of course, also brings down the price, which is key in a market in which new houses are competing against foreclosures.

Despite that shrinkage, Barista says homeowners still want nice touches such as quality faucets, higher-end appliances and granite countertops in that smaller kitchen.



2. The old front porch, revisited
Front and side porches are making a comeback, says Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects, which performs a quarterly Home Design Trends Survey. One reason is simple: Front porches help create a sense of community, something that more traditional suburbs lack.

But something else is driving the interest in front porches, Baker says. Thanks to the recession and the soft housing market, homebuilders have sharply curtailed their construction of big, self-standing communities of hundreds or even thousands of homes. Instead, they're doing more "in-fill," adding dollops of homes here and there among existing homes. Porches can help integrate these homes with the existing community, Baker says.



3. A ‘greener’ home.
Not surprisingly, energy efficiency is one of the year's hottest trends.

Efficiency takes many forms, from builders adding insulation in the walls, to better windows with glazing and higher "R-value" — or insulation ability — to sealed ductwork that doesn't leak air, to Energy Star-rated appliances throughout the home. Some builders are even installing low-energy LED lights for accent lighting, Barista says.

"There is a premium that (builders are) paying for these products," Barista says, "but they're doing their best not to pass along all the cost to the consumers."

Ideal Homes is one of many builders now offering a guarantee on ongoing energy savings for homeowners for their new home. The builder "does the math" on the savings for buyers, estimating their savings as part of the sale process.

"Multiple large national builders, including Beazer Homes and Meritage Homes, are now offering energy-efficient homes, some as standard (no premium cost to the buyer) and many rated or certified through third-party programs," Barista says, such as Energy Star or the National Green Building Program.

The trend is less about consumer demand and more about builders needing to stay competitive, not only with other homebuilders but also with existing homes and foreclosures.

"They see 'green' as adding value to their products," Barista says.



4. No 'upstairs, downstairs' drama.
Single-story homes remain popular, according to the AIA. Why? It's simple: As the baby boomers age, such homes are easier for older folks to navigate. They're also easier for aged friends or parents to visit, too.



5. The downscaled kitchen and bath
Our desire for big kitchens and bathrooms ballooned during the boom years, and homebuilders were happy to oblige. That's changing.

"Functionality is now preferred to more and larger kitchens and bathrooms within U.S. homes," Baker wrote earlier this year. "But since kitchens remain the nerve center of the home, doing more with less space is a key consideration."

The upshot: Practicality and multiple use rule. Making a kitchen a family space is a priority. Kitchens will have areas devoted to charging laptops, mobile phones and PDAs, Baker says.

In the bathroom, some of the bloom is off the rose. Adding linen closets and storage is in. Adding a doorless shower? Not so much.



6. A home that serves you well
"Buyers are looking for value and how features contribute to the efficiency of their lifestyle," says Stephen Melman, director of economic services for the National Association of Home Builders.

That's why "walk-in closets in master bedrooms and well-designed laundry rooms are likely candidates to repeat as most likely features for 2011," says Melman, whose association is performing a survey of the year's most requested items in homes. Those requests may not be dramatic, but they underscore how homeowners want their home to work easily for them.

And there you have next year's hot house. Get yourself a big master closet and a big front porch and start enjoying yourself in 2011.
....

Thanks, for this Paula! Regarding number 4, I'd add that I see a trend developing, maybe not in 2011 but down the road a bit. I predict that existing single story homes will sell at a premium to similar two story homes. This because of a major driver in Real Estate, Baby Boomer demand. As Boomers age, stairs will become an issue for many as typical aging conditions assert themselves, such as arthritis, bad knees, and even vertigo, a side effect of many, many medications. I think many will be looking to get into a single story, as one tendency of Boomers is that they want what they want, right now. Look for the scarcity of single story homes to drive up prices as the demand increases. Check back with me on this around 2013.

Finally, the gloom and doomers over at Real Estate Trends:


I always include their info even though going back as far as the 80's they have consistently missed any upswings in the market due to their orientation towards half-empty glasses. One thing about the Real Estate Market, dear readers, is that there is a certain percentage of it that thinks things will always be just like they are today, and never change.


Of course, the difference between that take and reality is often measured in tens of thousands of dollars.

Happy and Prosperous New Year all.

That's What I'm Talking About

Beds: 6 Baths: 5 Sq. Ft.: 5,924 Lot Size: 1.7 Acres
New to the market, this home is pretty much the iconic Malibu home that everyone is thinking of when they start looking in Malibu. Gracious and stylish in every detail, huge lot, great pool, overlooking Zuma Beach. What they aren't thinking about is the going rate for this, which is $6,995,000. But what the hell, live a little, you can't take it with you!
This home has everything I would want in a Malibu home.

Warm living room with ocean views.

Very simple totally Zen patio

Palatial Master with ocean views on a sea of dreams

De rigueur home theater- but quite tastefully done

Landscaping done to fit the surroundings. This is just exquisite:


plenty of lawn for strolling and playing with the kids/dog


And of course, tranquil sunsets to view as you sip wine on your balcony:

To me, this home is the whole package. Malibu writ large. Without the largesse.
Call me to view this and properties that match YOUR dreams!

Bank-owned Spanish Hacienda on 7 acres-for a million two!

4BR 3 BA, 3800 sq ft.$1,250,000+/-

IN the Santa Monica Mountains on the Westlake side of Decker Canyon, this strikes me as an outstanding deal provided you like a project. While it's essentially turn key, you might want to redo many of the treatments and decor. Sited on seven acres, most of it usable (your results may vary)as long as you know someone with a D5 Cat to carve things out for you. This place was built in 1981 so it's survived three of the most ferocious fires seen in these parts. I love the hills up here but that's a definite part of your life in this canyon.

Not without its quirks, this hacienda features an indoor sport court w/ wood floors. I can't tell if it's legal size for racquetball.




Most of the rooms are of that "grande" scale late 20th Century design. Of course I always tell those who will listen that there's always a reason a home ends up bank owned. Not much demand for an indoor sport court. I think you could make a great gallery space out of it with room for even the most monumental of pieces, like a Dale Chihuly tower. Here he is with a piece that would fit nicely within the confines of a sport court:


The kitchen is nice and sizable,but the cabinets are passe'

I'm told the Master is two story:

Pretty decent walk-in closet

AND it comes with a big guest house

Pretty neat, all told. Are you up to the challenge?
To view this and other magnificent properties, contact me any time.

Why Tons of Buyers Are Screwing Up

Every so often I read someone else's take on the market and think " wow, I could have written this word for word". What follows is an example of this. Sometimes , today's buyers have a forest /trees problem. They want to hammer the seller "because it's a buyers market" and they lose the property to an all-cash buyer with a long view on the market. There area lot of these out there right now, all cash buyers willing to pay full list price or above. Because they know five years from now they will have an excellent return on their investment.

Why Tons of Buyers Are Screwing Up
Price and Terms.

Price. Terms.

I will bet you a 6-pack of Old Milwaukee that if you ask first-time buyers what the term "terms" is that a bunch of them would screw it up, maybe because their buyer agent is a glorified door unlocker who is a payment behind on his car. But that's another post.

Right now, thousands of buyers across our great land are poisoning their prospective home purchase over an appliance, a repair to an electrical panel, or less than 1% of the price of the home. Because, after all, it is a buyer's market. What is a buyer's market? Well, to a carrier pigeon buyer agent who won't properly advise their client out of fear of losing them, it is whatever the buyer wants. And typically, the uninitiated buyer will subjugate the seller to their will to get a great deal. And why shouldn't they? Sellers were making buyers waive inspections, come up with extra cash with under appraised homes and equally insane things 5 short years ago. Point conceded. And if buying a home is a tit-for-tat event for you, read no further. But if you want to buy intelligently, read on.

We got off track in the earlier part of this decade by calling homes great investments. Everyone bought that. Later in the decade, homes became bad investments, and almost nobody bought. So I don't begrudge anyone for taking a wait and see attitude. Yet homes are like insurance. They can behave like investments, but they serve a greater utility- while you hope to never actually use life insurance, you do use your home as a place to live. It isn't a cold asset. You derive utility from it. Live within your means and you are OK, as many prior generations will attest.

Any honest perusal of my blog will attest to the fact that I have never had a mantra of "Now is the time to buy!" I am rethinking that.

About a year ago, some guy was featured on Active Rain advising people not to buy a short sale because they were going to miss some narrow window of opportunity for historically low rates. Those rates were higher than they are today. With current rates so low they are starting to resemble Mariano Rivera's earned run average, too many people are missing the train because they want a window seat. They have to dominate the seller or no deal. And that's a shame. Right now, the monthly payment on a 15 year mortgage is just a tad higher than the payment on a 30-year mortgage 3 short years ago. If you throw an extra payment or two in annually, you could pay your house off in 10 years.

I have witnessed buyers lose fantastic deals on homes that have everything they wanted over a $5000 difference on a $600,000 home. The seller had the temerity to attempt to negotiate. Bad seller. No sweat off my back; I have a home and if my company were going to go under it would have a long time ago. There is no one buyer I need. But these people need a home. They can't justify the move until they have subjugated the seller to their absolute will, and if the seller won't submit, they are banished. The buyer keeps hunting. Here's why that's crazy: the town crier won't announce when the market bottoms out. Nor will he let us know when rates will rise again.

A 3/8 percent rise in rate over the period of the loan will dwarf that $5000 buyers still want from the seller after rounds of offers and counter offers. The riding mower or the chandelier won't pay that extra money, but many of today's buyers aren't thinking of that- they feel a societal-driven compulsion to chew sellers down ever more. I don't blame them for being this way. I blame their agents for not educating them about local conditions. I blame the NAR for running bland commercials that sound like 1970's era Amway commercials that build trademark recognition and little else. It is only a good deal if the seller actually agrees. If you are making offers on your 3rd or 4th house, wake up- if your agent won't say it, I will. Sellers have never been this motivated. They just dislike being your gimp. Smart business people don't have their trading partner humiliated. Magnanimity is not weakness.

I would advise buyers to get on the train. With the terms available now, you are
in the best position any of us have ever seen. Be happy you have a job and a down payment, don't kvetch about not riding in the conductor's car, and rejoice that you are one of the fortunate few when you arrive.

J. Philip Faranda is based in Briarcliff Manor, NY. His market covers Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, & Dutchess counties. Almost 100 clients and customers had closed transaction in 2008-2009 from his efforts. Ever the high-producing listing agent, he counts among his specialities hard to sell properties & short sales. You can reach him at (914) 723-8900.

8 Tips for Real Estate Investing

Hey everyone. Shout out to all you investors out there! ZIP Realty's monthly newsletter offers some great tips for investors. When investing in real estate, it pays to follow certain guidelines before making, and possibly regretting, such a costly decision. The following eight tips will help you make a successful real estate investment.

1. Do your research. Before you buy a house for income generation, be sure to research historical price data for that particular neighborhood. Try to feel out whether housing prices in that area of town are rising, falling, or holding steady. Look up the selling prices of other homes in the house's neighborhood. This will let you know if now is the opportune time to buy your desired property.

2. Consider buying cheaper property. If you buy an expensive home you will need to charge a higher rent; conversely, a cheaper home will mean more reasonable rent. Renters who pay a high monthly rent may just as easily move out and pay that money towards their own mortgage. Higher rent properties are a luxury, while cost-effective rents are a need. In other words, needs always outrank wants.

3. Add up all costs. Don't buy a property just because it is a "steal." Consider all the costs of buying the property, including any needed repairs, utility bills, property insurance and taxes, and risk of vacancy. If possible, make a cash flow statement, or ask for a cash flow statement from the prior owners of the property (if it was used as a rental property). Collect as many documents as you can which detail the property's utility and other costs.

4. Know your market. Analyze your property, the type of neighborhood in which it is located, and what businesses or organizations are nearby. Would this property be suited for young professionals with no families? Would this property be better suited for renovation and resell to a family? Knowing what you are buying will help you better turn a profit on your property.

5. Consider capital growth. Assess the neighborhood located around the property that you are buying. Are big corporations being built in the vicinity? Or are houses and buildings being shut down and demolished? Do you see evidence of quaint shops and shopping malls going up nearby? All these events will play a factor in your property's future price at sale. They will also determine the demand for rental accommodation.

6. Inspect the property. Hire an accredited inspection firm to come in person and inspect the property you are considering. Do not overlook or skimp on this important step. It is imperative that the condition of the house be assessed, including its roof, fixtures, foundation, walls, and plumbing, heating, and electrical systems. Professional house inspectors will also look out for problems indigenous to that housing area, like termite, flood, or earthquake damage.

7. Do not purchase beyond your means. While you may qualify to purchase a lot more property than you originally deemed possible, don't. The last thing you need is to be house poor. The property you purchase will need an occasional repair or update and you cannot rely on rental income alone to keep abreast of such future developments. Keep at least 5% of your property's purchase price in a separate account and be prepared to withdraw it should the need arise.

8. Think for the long-term. Buying property should always be considered a long-term investment. The exception might be if you are looking to purchase real estate in order to "flip" it for a quick profit. Otherwise, real estate is a long-term and slow to liquidate asset. If you think that you will need cash soon, it is best not to buy property.