Julie Rheingans

Dirty bathrooms are a huge turnoff for buyers. Scrub them, paint them, buy a new shower curtain, rugs and towels. A great rule of thumb is to make sure your bathroom looks like what you'd expect to find if you stayed in a nice hotel. Below are a few tips that may help make your clean and extravagant:

1) Remove your personal prodcuts from the countertops. Toothpast/toothbrush, deoderant, hair brush, etc. should be stored in the cabinets

2) Make sure the toilet is clean with the lids closed!

3) Remove outdated wallpaper or bold paint colors. All walls should be neutral colors with matching linens.

4) If there is carpet in the bathroom, it should be removed. Consider replacing the carpet with tile.

5) Replace the current shower curtain with a new one in a neutral solid color. You should also replace the curtain rings to match.

They say kitchens and bathrooms sell the home. Put a few dollars into making your bathroom look good and you will get your money back plus some!

Ryan Champeau

Dogs frighten some people and irritate others. Don't let your dog ruin the sale of your home. Below are a few tips to help you:

1) Remove your dog from the house. Some sellers lock the dog in a room and tell the buyers to keep the door closed but that is a very bad idea. If you were buying a home, wouldn't you want to be able to look in every room? Agressive pets that come to the door, follow buyers around, or jump/sniff buyers create a bad experiance.

2) Pick up the poop! The backyard is a big selling point. Make sure all the poop is cleaned up. The last thing a buyer wants to see when they are considering your home is a backyard full of poop...and worse yet...if they step in any they will relate that bad experience with the home.

3) Fix/remove teeth marks. Chewed areas are big turn-offs to buyers. They see this the same as if a hole was punched in the wall. It creates a destructive pattern on the house they are considering.

These are just a few tips. Also consider taking care of pet hair, pet carpet stains, and pet odor.

Do you have any bad experiances with pets at home showings that you can share?

Ryan Champeau

FABREZE! The first step to take after listing your home for sale should be to remove the odor. How easy...Most stores offer Fabreze for only $3.93. Buyers generally make up their mind within the first ten seconds they walk in the front door. When buyers first impression is a bad smell, it usually doesn’t end well for the seller. With all the competition in the market right now, make sure you are not the person making this mistake.

Another suggestion is to make a batch of cookies. Cookies will make the buyer think of home and help them imagine cooking for their family in that home.

If you have pets that used the carpet as a bathroom or if you smoked in your home, you may need to take more drastic steps like replacing the carpet or painting the walls. That is the only way you will truly get rid of the smell. Don't own the smelly house!

Ryan Champeau

Earlier this week a HUD home came up on the market. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms on 3/4 acre with a creek running through the back yard. Best of all, it is priced $99,000 under fair market value! I immediately sent a spec sheet out to my buyers database. It didn't take long before I scheduled my first showing. After the showing I walked through and took a video of the home so I could show my investors who don't have time to look at houses all day. During my 7th showing of this home the buyer was very interested and it was just a matter of offering asking price or try to negotiate. As he was walking around the house for the fourth time, he asked me "did someone commit suicide in this house?" What would make him ask such a question? It turns out that his family remembered hearing someone commit ed suicide on this short quiet street about 9 months ago. I quickly Googled the address on my phone and saw no mention of any suicide. We went over to the neighbors to get the scoop and sure enough, the previous owner shot himself in the basement. My buyer cancelled his offer on the spot. I couldn't blame him.

As I tell people this story I ask them what they would do and it is about 50/50. We can all agree on the fact that now that I know the situation, even though I don't legally need to disclose this information, ethically I do.

So now it's your turn.......

What would you do?

Buy the house because it is great and $99,000 under fair market value

or

cancel the deal because someone commited suicide in it?

A couple weeks ago, I was on my way home from enjoying the weekend up north at the cabin with my wife and my dog, Charmin, a small Westie. I pulled over on the side of the dirt road because my wife noticed a turkey in the woods. I rolled down the window so Charmin could see. Charmin was so intriged that she literally jumped out of our large SUV window! She fell hard to the ground, unhurt luckily, and must have realized that maybe it wasn't such a good idea but chased after the turkey anyways. She ended up losing the turkey in the woods.

That got me thinking about how some home buyers are "jumping" at the first homes they see without being prepared for what problems could occur during and after the sale. Here are a few tips to consider when buying a home:

1) Get pre-approved - If you are lucky enough to be pre-approved for a home loan, it can give you an edge over any other buyers who may be interested in the same home but are not yet pre-approved. It’s also an indication to the home owner that you are serious about buying the home and not just bargaining to find a steal!

2) Affordable home - The rule of thumb is that you can buy housing that runs about two-and-one-half times your annual salary. But you'll do better to use one of many calculators available online to get a better handle on how your income, debts, and expenses affect what you can afford. Make sure you don’t use up all of your monthly income on the home payment. You will be much less stressed out when you have extra money for vacations, nights out, or any other fun activities.

3) Find a Realtor - Even though the internet gives buyers unprecedented access to home listings, most new buyers (and many more experienced ones) are better off using a professional agent. Look for an agent who will have your interests at heart and can help you with strategies during the bidding process. Realtors will also guide you though out the process and make sure everything goes smoothly. The best part is…it’s usually FREE to work with a buyers agent!

4) Hire a home inspector - Buyers gain a thorough overview of the property and its condition before closing. This helps in deciding an offer, negotiating price, or finalizing the purchase contract. By having an inspection done, the buyer is knowledgeable about both negative and positive aspects of the property so there are no unpleasant surprises later. Property maintenance needs are also made known in advance.

We hope Charmin will be smarter the next time she sees a turkey and will only go after it after she assesses the situation.