Who Determines How Much Your House is Worth?

Your house is very special to you - no doubt it holds many warm memories, but buyers who are looking at your house have just looked at 20 houses and your house is just number 21. It's no more special to them than number 12 or 18 were. Therein lies the challenge when thinking about pricing your home.

In very basic terms: Real estate is a commodity, not a product.

With a product the manufacturer makes something, then establishes the price it will sell for. They advertise it, and the public either buys the product or not at that price. Think clothing or furniture in a store.

With a commodity, the sellers set an "asking price" and then buyers decide their "bid price". The buyers assign their own value based on two things: 1)what is happening in the market (prices fluctuate daily and are influenced by supply & demand) and 2)what are their perceptions of the value of the exact features and benefits inherent in that commodity. The buyer’s perception of value determines what your property is worth to the potential buyer. Think auction.

Also, with all commodities and especially real estate there are two market trends – either appreciating or depreciating which depend on the laws of supply and demand. When fewer properties come on the market than go off, there is a shortage of inventory and prices go up ... this results in an appreciating market. When more properties are coming on the market than are being sold, there is an oversupply of inventory, and prices go down ... this results in a depreciating market. It will probably come as no shock to you, but we are currently in the third year of a depreciating market.

Your potential buyers are comparing your home to similar houses in your town. They are visiting other homes for sale that are comparable in size, style, condition and location. They see what your competition is priced at, and are also working with their Realtor to see what comparable homes sold for in recent months. Putting all of their observations and data together they are determining the fair market value of your home. Hopefully you too have done some research and have come up with a reasonably similar fair market value and price your home accordingly.

The bottom line is: your buyer is an educated consumer and in real estate the consumers set the fair market price of a property. If you price your home based on your emotional evaluation of how "special" it is, and not what it is worth compared to similar ones in the eyes of a buyer you will lose time and money. Yes - money. Studies have shown that overpriced homes actually sell for less money (when they do eventually sell) than if they had been priced correctly from the start.

Of course your home is priceless to you, but to the homebuyer it is not the only choice out there. Use your Realtor's experience and resources to help you determine the value of your home to a buyer. Doing this is the first step to a successful sale. If there are any other questions you have about this, or any other real estate concerns or needs feel free to contact me, Mike Hunter at 978-580-1069.

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Why should I calibrate my plasma or LCD TV?

Why should I calibrate my plasma or LCD TV

Plasma and LCD TVs are supposed to work straight out of the box, using default settings. However, these settings are optimized so that a TV can be viewed to maximum effect on the floor of a bright showroom, now than in your living room. High brightness and image enhancement are almost always inappropriate for the home and allot of calibration is usually required to get the best picture. Calibration can seriously improve picture quality, and can reduce energy consumption by up to 50%.

There are three options for calibrating a flat screen television. You can calibrate manually by accessing the configuration menu and adjusting the brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc. to your tastes.

Alternatively, you could invest in a calibration DVD, which includes tools and test patterns that lead you through the selection of appropriate levels for all the common settings. The advantages of this approach is the cost,around £20, ease of use and repeatability. Your TV should be calibrated every 6-9 months as you TV output changes as the phosphors (esp plasma) change. If you go for option 3 you have to pay again each time.

The last option is to have your flat screen television calibrated professionally. An inexpensive calibration DVD can provide good results, but a trained professional calibrator is likely to have thousands of pounds worth of hardware and software at his, disposal and can custom tune your television to near perfection. A good quality calibration service might cost around £200 a visit.

Find out more about the PixelProtector calibration DVD.

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How to Sell Your House: Tips for the First Time Home Seller

You obviously succeeded at being a first time home buyer, and now you are about to be a first time home seller! Below are 11 tips to selling your house faster and for more money:

1. Make your house easy to show. Accompanied showings or 24 hours notice are will discourage most of your potential buyers who will view other houses they can see easily when it is convenient for them.

2. Price it right. This may sound counterintuitive, but a house priced fairly will sell for more money than an overpriced home. You may think, "We'll aim high and negotiate down if we need to," but this does not happen. In reality buyers don't even bid on an overpriced house. After changing the price a time or two to what it should have been, your house is "stale" and your largest pool of buyers have already looked at it and ruled it out. More times than not, when you finally do sell, it will be for below what your original "fair price" would have been.


3. Keep your house neat and clean at all times. Vacuum, dust and pick stuff up. Pack away very personal items around the house like family photos. People want to see themselves in this space, not feel your presence all around them. Think of it as how you would like to see a nice hotel room when you enter it - neat, clean and free of signs of previous users.

4. Keep the kitchen as uncluttered as possible. Put away countertop appliances, keep counters clean and as empty as possible. Remove refrigerator magnets. A vase of flowers on an island or counter always looks cheery and brings attention to counter space.

5. Remove obvious religious icons. Remember, people from all religions and backgrounds will look at your home to buy it. You want it to be as neutral as possible. This may be a good time to pre-pack these items for your move.

6. Keep signs of your children's presence to a minimum. Of course you love your children, but it is a good idea to contain their toys and remove photos of them and items with their names emblazoned on them. Many househunters get distracted by messy toy areas and you also want to be security conscious.

7. Pack up your collections and knick knacks. You may love your collection of 30 chicken/rooster items you have all over your kitchen, but sellers will see them and not the size, layout and pluses of your kitchen. All they'll remember is that there were tons of chicken items. This goes for books too - some are nice, but if they're overflowing bookshelves and taking over rooms, pack them up. Boxes can be put neatly in a corner of the basement or in storage until you move. The less cluttered a room is, the larger it appears.

8. Have your house smell nice. Perhaps simple and obvious, but worth stating. Get rid of animal smells (ask a friend or your agent - you may be too used to it), don't cook strong smelling foods (fish, garlic, etc.) and don't smoke in the house.

9. Don't hide all your dirty/extra stuff in closets. People do open closet doors to see how much storage there is.

10. Provide good lighting. A well lit room looks bigger and has a positive emotional impact. Turn lights on before showings, and buy some floor lamps if you need to for rooms that may be poorly lit.

11. Curb appeal. I know this phrase is used to death, but it's true - the first impression of your house as buyers pull up to it is critical. Mow the lawn and trim the bushes. Plant a few flowers along the walk or put potted flowers on the steps.

Your Realtor will have made a lot of effort in researching comparable homes, helping you set a price and getting their marketing strategy implemented so your home gets the immediate attention of other Realtors and their buyers. If your house sells quickly it means you and your Realtor did everything right - congratulations! Now you can concentrate on the next step in your life!

If you have any questions or if there's anything I can help you with I'd be glad to talk with you. Call me at 978-580-1069 or email me at mike.hunter@nemoves.com

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How do Short Sales and Bank Owned Properties Differ?

Bank Owned Properties (REO)

• The property is owned by a local bank or a national mortgage servicer( from hereon I'll use the term Bank). All negotiations are made between a Buyer and an employee of the bank (as opposed to a homeowner). REO properties are almost always vacant and utilities may be turned off.
  
• Standard offers to purchase are used in addition to the required Bank's addendums and disclosures. Consideration ($) will need to be in the form of a cashier’s check (no personal checks). Proof of funds for the down payment and a current loan pre-approval for the balance will also need to accompany an offer. Offers must be complete, correct and filled out according to the bank's requirements. Do not submit offers that are not in compliance, they will be rejected by the bank or delayed until corrected regardless of the price being offered.
  
• Your opinion of value and the Bank's may differ, but before a Bank forecloses they have at least one local broker provide an opinion of value. Once they decide to sell the property, they have their listing broker determine if the opinion of value is still correct. The Bank is almost always pricing near market and is expecting to sell the property close to the asking price. Your Buyer's Agent will give you a CMA (comparable market analysis) for the property prior to your making an offer. If you both feel that the asking price is well over market you should provide that CMA to the listing broker along with the offer. The lender has no obligation to see your CMA and frankly, they don't care anyway. But if your CMA includes recent sales or similar properties that might not have been included in the original opinion of value, a strong listing broker just might be able to make your case to the Bank.
• You may receive an answer within hours or it may take up to a week, but the response time should be fairly quick. Don't get impatient with the listing broker, they do not have any control over the response time no matter what time frame you put in the offer for acceptance. The best approach is to ask the listing broker for an approximate length of time needed for response and use that in your offer. If the offer is for less then the asking price do not be surprised if the response is an outright rejection or a "best and final" counter offer. Banks are not in the business of owning properties, they are in the business of lending money, but any decision they make will be strictly business. If the offer is a solid offer (close to asking price with minimal contingencies and quick closing date) it may get accepted without a counter.
• If your offer is accepted it is unlikely that the Bank will make repairs so an “as-is” sale should be assumed, and you should look the property over very thoroughly before you make an offer. If a few repairs need to be made to facilitate FHA or Conventional financing the Bank might be willing to make them so don't be afraid to ask, but support any request with a hard quote from a licensed tradesman. If the house is a fixer-upper or a tear-down or in poor condition, (in today's market ) traditional lenders probably will not lend on the property, so don't waste your time submitting an offer using an FHA (95-97%) loan. Also, many banks are beginning to have penalties for closings that run beyond the set date so make sure your lender can perform in that time frame and that you do nothing to hold them up.
• In summary, REO property sales are very much like conventional sales, just remember you are negotiating with a disinterested 3rd party, not a traditional homeowner, and that any deal you make will be "just business".

Short-Sales

• With short sales the property is owned by a homeowner and the house may be occupied by an owner/tenant or it may be vacant. The owner is "under-water", the sales price less closing costs is less than the debt(s) on the property and any offer needs lender(s) approval even though the lender(s) might not even know that the property is for sale.
  A standard offer to purchase is used, which should include an addendum acknowledging and accepting the fact that this is a short-sale transaction and requires 3rd party approval. Consideration ($) can be a personal check and a current loan pre-approval for the balance will also need to accompany an offer.
• Unlike a Bank owned REO, the listing price for the property may be based on something other than facts. The seller might be pricing it low to encourage multiple offers. They might be pricing it high to try to recoup as much money as possible. In rare cases it might be priced correctly. Unless the listing broker tells you they have an "approved" short sale (and even if they do it might be "stale" and will need to be updated at the time of your offer), the lender has not approved a sale at the list price so a Buyer doesn’t know if his offer even at list price will be accepted. Again, your Buyer's Agent will produce a CMA market analysis to determine the value of the home before you make an offer. It is always good to submit this with your offer because even though the listing price may be based on something other than facts your offer should be based completelyon facts. Closings can occur within 30 days but the 30 day clock will not start until the lender gives their approval.
• In the beginning, your offer is handled like it would in a non-short-sale situation. The listing broker will present it to the seller and they approve it. It will then be forwarded on to the lender for their approval at which point the listing broker and the Buyer have no control over the process and is in a "wait and see" mode. This approval process may take one week or it may take up to three months. One very important thing to keep in mind is that while you are waiting for an approval of your offer another department of the Bank is working on the foreclosure and may actually foreclose on the property even though there are offers in for approval. If that happens, your deal is dead and the listing contract is terminated as the former seller is no longer the owner of the property and does not have authority to sell. If that happens and you are (still) interested in purchasing the property, you should work with your Buyer's Agent to follow-up on the property when it comes back on the market as a REO.
• Again, an "as is" sales should be assumed, but there may be a little more wiggle room than with a REO. Also, while it might be nice to have repairs made, the seller most likely won't have the resources to make them and their lender is very unlikely to do so since they don’t own the property, so when you look at the property you should look it over very thoroughly before you make your offer and take into account any obviously needed repairs.
• In summary, short sales are not at all like conventional sales, you are dealing with a broke seller, an uncaring bank, and probably a neglected property so you should wade into this swamp slowly and carefully and assume the worst - it probably will happen.

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Plasma & LCD screen cleaning discovery

Hi,

If you have read any of my blog before you will realise I am a bit of a nut when it comes to keeping my plasma TV screen clean. My view is that if you pay lots of money to watch HD TV or play the latest games on a PS3 or Xbox then what is the point of doing it on a dusty and smeared screen?

Anyway, here is the point of this post. I have been cleaning all the screens in my home with my faithful WOW microfiber screen cloths ever since I discovered them a few years ago. Anyone who knows me also is aware that they became the core product of my business and that I know make my crust from helping people enjoy their TV and laptop screens the best.

Did I say I was coming to the point? I did didn't I. Sorry. Anyway for the last few years I have been cleaning dozens of different screens with different combinations of spray cleaner and microfiber and realised I have never used the AM 75ml Aluminum Bottle Spray. Well today I took a bottle from stock and tried it out for the first time. What a screen cleaning discovery! Hence the title of this post. It was so good. I squirted it on as you do. Then wiped as you do. All the little smears and fingerprints came off first wipe. Normally when they have been crusted on for a few days it takes a few goes to get the little blighter's.

Any the 75ml AM spray kit is my new favorite. Now follows a shameless commercial plug to the product on my web site.

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Which plasma or LCD TV should I buy?

The question of choosing the right Plasma or LCD TV is one that is asked every day in living rooms and stores around the world. There is the choice of make, model, screen size and price not to mention the numerous technical features, leaving us to sort through a mass of marketing and ambiguous picture enhancement technologies in an attempt to make an informed decision.

The best thing to remember when deciding which Plasma or LCD TV to buy is that you should really make your decision based on which Plasma or LCD TV is the most appropriate for your needs. There are a variety of technologies that fall within the umbrella term `HDTV` so let`s take a quick tour of the most important information you`ll need to arm yourself with in order to streamline the process of choosing

LCD or Plasma?

The two main types of display technology on offer in the HDTV market are LCD and Plasma, and though both are used in flat-screen TVs there are a few vital differences that define the two.

• LCD - Stands for Liquid Crystal Display, and are in general lighter, smaller and thinner than Plasma screens, ranging in size from around 46" right down to 15" or less. They also have higher resolutions in the smaller sizes, meaning the picture on an LCD screen will be sharp no matter what size you choose. The angle from which you can view LCD screens isn`t always as good as Plasma offerings, but they are usually better performers if the room you`re using them in is brightly lit as the screens aren`t reflective.
• 
  
  
• Plasma - Plasma screen range in size from 40" right up to over 100" if you have the money. Their screens use two sheets of glass containing various plasma gasses which produce a picture when stimulated by electricity. The biggest advantage over LCD screens is the improved contrast meaning deep blacks and bright whites. They are considerably heavier and thicker than LCD screens.

Economy or top of the range?

Another problem facing HDTV buyers is the price difference within a given screen size. You can pay anywhere between £500 to over £5000 for a screen that is 50" across the diagonal, and on the surface you might think you were getting a better deal by going for the cheapest option. However, as with most things, you will get a much better HDTV if you are willing to spend a little bit more and go for a top brand within your chosen screen size. BUT!! Be warned there are exceptions.And I reccomend you always have the TV picture demonstrated. Don't let the shop assistant rush you and try several different input types. DVD/TV/Games console etc.

Generally speaking, cheaper brands offer lower quality plastics, much poorer contrast levels and colour depth and will often be limited in terms of the number and type of connections. They might also will look a lot less appealing than their more expensive rivals. A good example is the Pioneer LX6090. As part of their new LED range of ultra-thin screens it represents the latest in HDTV technology. It is considerably more expensive than other Plasma screens of a comparable size. However, for the improvements in picture quality, interface, input diversity and energy saving it trumps cheaper options in every way.Having said that if you have a cheaper model demonstrated you might think it is good enough.

This logic should be applied whether you`re spending £300 or £3000 on an HDTV. If you`re going to be using it every day and want to experience the true leap forward in technology that HDTVs should be then you shouldn`t be skimping if you can afford not to. Whether you go for a Plasma, LCD or new LED HDTV, be sure to shop around and choose carefully in order to get the best deal on the best TV.

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Free satellite TV channels over the Internet

Ever thought you are paying too much for Sky TV? Want a legal way to get quality TV channels for a reasonable price? Well now you can. No subscription just one very small initial payment.

visit the sales page of Satellite To PC TV or read on for more information.

How to Find Free TV Channels Across the Web

With more and more people having access to high speed broadband connections, video sharing and streaming sites like Youtube have grown beyond initial recognition. This has drawn more and more people away from watching traditional TV broadcasts and created an online audience of millions who watch videos on their computers.

However, if you want to watch anything other than videos of Gordon Browns silly smile then YouTube has its limitations! There are a wealth of options out there for watching terrestrial and foreign TV channels of all ilks online but they are all, without exception, re-runs or non-premium content.

In order to find the kind of programming you`re after you may well have to search around a bit, and if you want to watch live streaming channels it`s useful to consult an online TV guide for up to date listings information.

So the problem with most of the web sites offering free TV is that they are all just re-runs or broadcasts of non-premium channels.

However there is a software solution based on the latest IP broadcasting technology and the sheer volume of content on the web is expected to grow to produce a million channel choice but all this is in the future.

With a global economic recession, massive cutbacks in new technology investment you might be forgiven for asking, "But what can I get NOW!" If you want to find out how to get truly premium channels for nothing but a small one off fee then have a look at the web site below.

Let me know what you think.

Visit SatelliteToPC.com

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