Happy National Dog Day!

From the Century 21 Blog


In honor of National Dog Day, we’ve asked the cutest (or at least the furriest) members of your family what they really want in their home. Your dog may really dig these paws-itively great updates.
Invest in a fetch robot: Is fetch getting a little too repetitive for you? It never gets old to a dog! Save up for a robot that can keep up with your pup’s non-stop energy and love for the game.
Deck out the outdoor dog house: A stylish dog house would not only look great in your yard, but it can also provide much-needed shade for a tuckered out pup.
Upgrade your reward system: Did someone say “treat”? With an automatic treat dispenser, you won’t even have to say the word. Instead, dogs will get a rewarding snack whenever they want one!
Install a crate surround sound system: Dogs shouldn’t miss out on movie night just because they’re in their crates. Set them up with perfectly crafted doggie speakers, so they can really experience the show.
Add a video conferencing unit: You know how excited your dog gets when you get home from a long day at work? It may be because they miss you. Let them call and chat you all day long. Who knows, Fido may share some good advice at your next team meeting. He’s always working like a dog.
Unlimited closet access: Your closet is a wonderland for dogs filled with tasty shoes and handbags. What your dog really wants is permission to chew! Open up your doors and let your dog have free reign, because your dog’s “I’m sorry” eyes are cuter than any new trend.
So throw your dog a bone and indulge in one, or all, of these home improvements. Your pet may just sit, speak, and jump for joy!
For entertainment purposes only. It’s ruff, but some of these things may not exist.

6 Remodeling Projects That Can Add to Your Resale Value

6 Remodeling Projects That Can Add to Your Resale Value

Home remodeling has become more popular than ever to attract buyers, thanks to an improving economy, strong job growth, higher disposable income, more home sales, low interest rates, and a more competitive housing market. Home owners looking to sell their home this year may want to complete a few upgrades and renovations that will help make their home get noticed among the competition.
The following are the remodeling trends recommended by both PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating as well as Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value report:
1. Curb appeal. According to Remodeling Magazine’s report, the key improvements with the highest ROI include the front door and garage door replacements, manufactured stone veneer front steps or foundations, vinyl siding, and replacing windows. Each of these upgrades will boost both buyer interest as well as the value of a home.

2. Deck addition. At a fraction of the price of an indoor addition, a new deck both enhances the landscaping of a yard as well as offers additional living space for al fresco dining, relaxing and entertaining. Most people use their decks for at least six months out of the year so it’s a worthwhile investment.

3. Kitchen remodel. Without having to completely gut the kitchen, replacing cabinet doors and drawer fronts, new appliances, countertops and flooring continues to rank as one of the top renovations for the last 10 years.

4. Bathroom remodel. Buyers are looking for a bathroom that doesn’t feel outdated. Even the smallest bathrooms can look more attractive with the right finishing touches. The key features that will sell a bathroom are updated vanities, wall color, tile, sink, faucets, toilet, and lighting fixtures.

5. Reinventing an existing room. Buyers and home owners want as much space as they can get. Remodeling an attic into a master or guest bedroom or converting a basement into a playroom, home theater, or exercise room are popular and profitable ways to add usable space to an older home as opposed to the bigger expense of an addition.

6. Painting and removing outdated wallpaper. Finally, if you don’t have time or money to invest in a remodel, one of the simplest and most affordable solutions is to remove dated wallpaper and add a trendy wall color. Don’t go too bold, though. Painting walls a neutral color will also bring out the home’s best features. This simple update provides a boost with instant universal appeal to buyers who want to envision living in the space.

13 Tips for Selling your Home

Some Home Selling tips from Reader's Digest: http://www.rd.com/home/improvement/13-tips-for-selling-your-home/#ixzz3XZS3r01B

We’ve all heard about how “bad” the real estate market is. But what’s bad for sellers can be good for buyers, and these days, savvy buyers are out in spades trying to take advantage of the buyer’s market. Here are 13 thing you can do to help sell your house.

1. Audit your agent’s online marketing. 92% of homebuyers start their house hunt online, and they will never even get in the car to come see your home if the online listings aren’t compelling. In real estate, compelling means pictures! A study by Trulia.com shows that listings with more than 6 pictures are twice as likely to be viewed by buyers as listings that had fewer than 6 pictures.
2. Post a video love letter about your home on YouTube. Get a $125 FlipCam and walk through your home AND your neighborhood, telling prospective buyers about the best bits – what your family loved about the house, your favorite bakery or coffee shop that you frequented on Saturday mornings, etc. Buyers like to know that a home was well-loved, and it helps them visualize living a great life there, too.

3. Let your neighbors choose their neighbors. If you belong to neighborhood online message boards or email lists, send a link to your home’s online listing to your neighbors. Also, invite your neighbors to your open house – turn it into a block party. That creates opportunities for your neighbors to sell the neighborhood to prospective buyers and for your neighbors to invite house hunters they know who have always wanted to live in the area.

 

4. Facebook your home’s listing. Facebook is the great connector of people these days. If you have 200 friends and they each have 200 friends, imagine the power of that network in getting the word out about your house!

 

       

5. Leave some good stuff behind. We’ve all heard about closing cost credits, but those are almost so common now that buyers expect them – they don’t really distinguish your house from any of the other homes on the market anymore. What can distinguish your home is leaving behind some of your personal property, ideally items that are above and beyond what the average homebuyer in your home’s price range would be able to afford. That may be stainless steel kitchen appliances or a plasma screen TV, or it might be a golf cart if your home is on a golf course.

6. Beat the competition with condition. In many markets, much of the competition is low-priced foreclosures and short sales. As an individual homeowner, the way you can compete is on condition. Consider having a termite inspection in advance of listing your home, and get as many of the repairs done as you can – it’s a major selling point to be able to advertise a very low or non-existent pest repair bill. Also, make sure that the little nicks and scratches, doorknobs that don’t work, and wonky handles are all repaired before you start showing your home.

7. Stage the exterior of your home too. Stage the exterior with fresh paint, immaculate landscaping and even outdoor furniture to set up a Sunday brunch on the deck vignette. Buyers often fantasize about enjoying their backyards by entertaining and spending time outside.

8. Access is essential. Homes that don’t get shown don’t get sold. And many foreclosures and short sale listings are vacant, so they can be shown anytime. Don’t make it difficult for agents to get their clients into your home – if they have to make appointments way in advance, or can only show it during a very restrictive time frame, they will likely just cross your place off the list and go show the places that are easy to get into.

9. Get real about pricing. Today’s buyers are very educated about the comparable sales in the area, which heavily influence the fair market value of your home. And they also know that they’re in the driver’s seat. To make your home competitive, have your broker or agent get you the sales prices of the three most similar homes that have sold in your area in the last month or so, then try to go 10-15% below that when you set your home’s list price. The homes that look like a great deal are the ones that get the most visits from buyers and, on occasion even receive multiple offers. (Bidding wars do still exist!)

10. Get clued into your competition. Work with your broker or agent to get educated about the price, type of sale and condition of the other homes your home is up against. Attend some open houses in your area and do a real estate reality check: know that buyers that see your home will see those homes, too – make sure the real-time comparison will come out in your home’s favor by ensuring the condition of your home is up to par.

11. De-personalize. Do this – pretend you’re moving out. Take all the things that make your home “your” personal sanctuary (e.g., family photos, religious décor and kitschy memorabilia), pack them up and put them in storage. Buyers want to visualize your house being their house – and it’s difficult for them to do that with all your personal items marking the territory as yours.

12. De-clutter. Keep the faux-moving in motion. Pack up all your tchotchkes, anything that is sitting on top of a countertop, table or other flat surfaces. Anything that you haven’t used in at least a year? That goes, too. Give away what you can, throw away as much as possible of what remains, and then pack the rest to get it ready to move.

13. Listen to your agent. If you find an experienced real estate agent to list your home, who has a successful track record of selling homes in your area, listen to their recommendations! Find an agent you trust and follow their advice as often as you can.

THE SMART WAY TO LOOK AT HOME IMPROVEMENTS

What home improvements really pay off when the time comes to sell your house?

That’s an important question for any homeowner contemplating moving or remodeling. And the only possible answer is a somewhat complicated one.

That answer starts with the fact that really major improvements – room additions, total replacements of kitchens and baths, etc., -- rarely pay off fully in the near term. It ends with the fact that small and relatively inexpensive changes can pay off in a big way in making your home attractive to buyers if your decision is to move now.

It’s a simple fact, consistently confirmed across America over a very long period of time, that even the most appropriate major improvements are unlikely to return their full cost if a house is sold within two or three years.

Does that mean that major home improvements are always a bad idea? Absolutely not. It does mean, though, that if your present house falls seriously short of meeting your family’s needs you need to think twice – and think carefully – before deciding to undertake a major renovation. Viewed strictly in investment terms, major improvements rarely make as much sense as selling your present home and buying one that’s carefully selected to provide you with what you want.

Even if you have a special and strong attachment to the house you’re in and feel certain that you could be happy in it for a long time if only it had more bedrooms and baths, for example, there are a few basic rules that you ought to keep in mind.

Probably the most basic rule of all, in this regard, is the one that says you should never –unless you absolutely don’t care at all about eventual resale value – improve a house to the point where its desired sales price would be more than 20 percent higher than the most expensive of the other houses in the immediate neighborhood.

Try to raise the value of your house too high, that is, and surrounding properties will pull it down.

Here are some other rules worth remembering:

Never rearrange the interior of your house in a way that reduces the total number of bedrooms to less than three.

Never add a third bathroom to a two-bath house unless you don’t care about ever recouping your investment.

Swimming pools rarely return what you spend to install them. Ditto for sun rooms – and finished basements.

If you decide to do what’s usually the smart thing and move rather than improve, it’s often the smaller, relatively inexpensive improvements that turn out to be most worth doing.

The cost of replacing a discolored toilet bowl, making sure all the windows work or getting rid of dead trees and shrubs in trivial compared with adding a bathroom, but such things can have a big and very positive impact on prospective buyers. A good broker can help you decide which expenditures make sense and which don’t, and can save you a lot of money in the process.

To find an agent that can help you in your journey, contact a Real Estate Agent at Century 21 Dunaway & Hart, Inc. today. Affordability and Mortgage Calculators can be found at our website so you can determine your price range. To look at homes for sale in your neighborhood, check out all the property listings in central Arkansas, watch our television show, or read our Central Arkansas Homes Magazine. You may also call our office at 501-327-2121 or 800-490-0021 to set up a private home or land showing with one of our award winning Real Estate agents today.