ABC’s of Fine Design

I know I have not talked much about real estate lately as it really has not been a great time to do to much. Now though is a good time to buy with prices down people are able to get a really good deal on a new home.

I really wanted to share a site with you called Krunching where you can, Krunch It and find investment homes in California and either keep them for yourself or rent them to others. The reason I love this site right now is that so many people in California have lost their homes and either need new one’s to buy or rent. Other people may just be looking to invest in a down turned market if they have the money to sit on the property for a while. Whichever way you choose you can help the us economy by buying one of these homes. Yes lower home prices may make others fall, but once people start buying and investing in these homes the prices will slowly start to rise.

What I love the most about this site is that they will give you a 6 page detailed report on the address you put in. That means you learn a lot about the property before you spend the time to go see it. That I think is something many people will start doing. Buying a home now will require a lot more research then it did before. This site will help you do that research.

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My mother and step dad, with my help have decided to upgrade our propane to electric so they have been out looking at tank less water heaters, stoves and furnaces for the last 2 weeks. Monday they finally bought the tank less and are working on getting it put in. I still think that is the best way to go as it really can cut down on your electric bill.

The good news is they also don’t have to buy a stove as a friend of mine has one she is giving us. upgrading to either electric or just getting new appliances can be expensive at first, but if you can find some cheep or free things it helps, also once you do get everything upgraded the savings will start. I recommend getting new appliances if yours are more then 15 years old or are not an energy star product. In this economy saving money is a big deal and think about it this way, if you are buying new appliances to save you money your also helping the economy buy buying something.

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Right now as many of you know the economy stinks and it’s very hard to sell a home. Most people who are looking for a home are looking for something cheep and nice. Personally I’m looking for cheep and sturdy. I want something to fix up a little.

The following are a few tips I have to help you sell your home.

• Clean things up. Dirty homes do not sell. You want the buyer to believe that there is more space in a home then there is or at least not to think there is less because of all the clutter.

• Use promotional products to advertise your home. People love free stuff and even if they don’t buy your home, they may tell someone who does about the cool item they got from you.

• Use business cards. This does fall into the above category, but I wanted this one separate. You can leave business cards anywhere and they are very inexpensive to make. All you need to put on it is home for sale, price asked address and phone number of your Realtor.

• Throw a open house with food and entertainment. Invite your neighbors and have them meet your potential buyers. Some people may just decide to put in an offer if they like the people who live nearby.

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Right now there is a hold up in the design market. It is hard to find work and it’s hard to get jobs to do. What does this mean for the person looking for home improvement. Well you may be able to get some great deals. Look around and see who is offering what. Now is a good time to fix up the home you have. Stop using your home as a checking account for your vacations and start putting something into it that you will eventually get back.

Now this will only work if you can still afford your payments, don’t jump into an adjustable rate just because it’s cheep. Look for a fixed rate mortgage if you going to go that route. If you have the money to do the repairs without pulling out a loan make sure you will also have enough money to pay bills for a few months if something does happen. I don’t want to see any of you lose your home because I wrote you should fix it up.

If you have decided your going to fix things anyway here are a few things you may want to consider.

Kitchen and bathrooms if they are outdated
A new roof
Adding green design, such as geothermal heating or solar power.
Insulation

These are things that will either give you money back when you sell or they will save you money in the long run. Right now my mother is thinking of trying to get a loan to put up wind power and possibly geothermal heating. It’s something to think about.

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