Sue and Chuck DeFiore have the perfect solution for you – Lease Purchasing your home!

What is Lease Purchasing?

A Lease Purchase is a process that combines a basic rental lease with an agreement to purchase, or with an option to purchase the property. The Buyer (or Lease-Purchaser) pays to the seller a monthly payment that usually approximates a rental amount or a typical mortgage payment on the home. A percentage of that payment is typically applied towards the purchase price. At the end of the term, the buyer has the right to purchase the property for the price and terms to which both parties have previously agreed.

Put another way, a lease purchase is essentially a rental agreement combined with a purchase contract with pre-negotiated terms. The buyer leases the property for a specific period of time and then purchases the property before the end of the lease agreement. Sales price, length of rental, rent credits, escrow instructions, etc., are all contained in the agreement.

A lease purchase is a wonderful way to control property without the headaches of banks, mortgages, taxes or immediate loan qualifying. Lease Purchasing gives you the right to buy the property, but not the obligation to buy.

Following are just some of the benefits of Lease Purchasing for sellers.

1. Usually top sales price for the property.

2. Better quality tenants.

3. Higher rent than usual for the market area.

4. Non-refundable option consideration.

5. All minor maintenance is delegated to the tenant/buyer.

6. Seller remains on the deed.

7. Seller retains the tax shelter.

8. No fees to pay.

So, you ask, how do I lease purchase my home? Drop by our website and check out "How To Sell Your Home In 30 Days Or Less! Without A Realtor Or Realtor Commissions!", Just click on the link below:http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com/products/lpsellermanual.htm

We will give you the ability to move your home in 30 days or less! This will allow you to move forward with your plans, whatever they are! Why not get started making those plans today!

Copyright DeFiore Enterprises 2005

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 20 years,and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our “how to” Home Business Solutions Digest, it’s like having your own personal coach. Visit http://www.hbsdigest.com to start today.

Sellers, Are You Having A Hard Time Selling Your Home?

The housing market is hot, and you’ve decided to list your home. But what, if any, improvements should you tackle before selling? Should you just leave it all to the new homeowner?

There are two ways to look at pre-sale home improvements. You can either improve the curb appeal or the home’s outward appearance with quick and often low-cost improvements, or you can make some higher-dollar changes with the goal of adding value to the home and increasing your asking price. The reality is that all houses benefit from a little “spiffing up” before being shown to buyers, and smart home sellers will take the time and effort to do so.

If you are selling a home that requires a major repair for recent damages, consider contacting a public adjuster to determine if the loss is covered by insurance. If so, the resulting repairs could significantly boost your home’s resale value at little or no cost to you. Learn more.

View your home with a critical eye

Great curb appeal with immaculate landscaping, fresh paint, tidy closets and cabinets, spotless windows and a clutter-free feeling are essential to make a home really stand out. Impressing potential buyers is often a one-shot deal, so take the time to make some minor improvements that can lead to a faster sale and a higher offer.

Assume the role of a homebuyer. Give your home a critical look for dirt, flaws and cramped spaces. Then imagine the work ahead of you if you were to make this your new home. Think of your house as a commodity to be sold for top dollar, and you’ll soon be eager to make needed improvements.

Drive around and notice well-cared-for homes. Yards are groomed, paint is fresh and entrances are neat and welcoming. Then take an honest look at your home, and roll your sleeves up to tackle the tasks below:

* Pressure-clean rust, mold and mildew off exterior walls, sidewalks, decks, the roof and the driveway.

* Clean smudged windows and unclog gutters.

* Sweep sidewalks and driveways – and keep them clean.

* Edge sidewalks and remove weeds along the house and in the garden.

* Mow the lawn regularly.

* Trim back trees and shrubs that block the street view of your house for a more inviting appearance.

* Rake and remove leaves regularly.

* Trim tree limbs that are near or touching the roof.

* If you lack outdoor lighting, add a front porch light fixture and keep it turned on. Buyers often cruise by after dark to check out homes.

* Keep lights that are visible through front windows on for a warm appearance.

* If it’s in your budget, fresh exterior paint makes a house look like new.

* An attractive front door, perhaps with leaded glass inserts, creates a great first impression. But if you can’t afford a new door, replace worn handles and locks and apply a fresh coat of paint or stain.

* Clean carpets to remove odors and stains

Indoor re-dos

1. Every room, even the garage, should be spotless. Hiring a cleaning service is worth the minor investment if you are unable to give your home the once-over yourself. Clean major appliances, inside closets and do not forget to polish bathrooms.

2. Eliminate offensive odors – cigarette smoke and pet odor are permanent turnoffs and kill a sale. Send smokers outdoors, keep pets groomed and their bedding clean and out of the way and vacuum daily.

3. Make inexpensive repairs that greatly improve aesthetic appeal, such as repairing cracked grout, screwing in a loose shelf and replacing a cracked bath tile.

4. Remove clutter. Potential homebuyers can’t envision themselves and their belongings in your home if they can’t see past all your stuff. A rule of thumb is to eliminate at least one-third of your belongings from each room. If needed, invest in a storage space for your extraneous belongings while showing your home. Other clutter cutters: Store small kitchen appliances and other items off countertops and tables; Remove photographs and knick knacks from tables; and organize closets, pantry and cabinets.

Tips for vacant homes

Your home should be welcoming to buyers even if it is vacant. Keep your empty home inviting with the following tips:

* Vacant homes accumulate stale or mildew-laden air. Leave the heat or air conditioning running (depending on the season) to cut down odors. Set up a few softly fragranced air fresheners.

* Keep the lawn and landscaping groomed, even if you have to hire a service.

* Put a few lights on a timer switch to come on throughout the day.

Improvements that are worth your time

While you don’t want to take on a major renovation project that could cost thousands right before you sell creating chaos and delaying your listing date, you should examine the list of improvements you might have done if you weren’t selling. Weigh whether it is worth your while – and the potential boost to your selling price – to go ahead with the improvements. Here are some tips to add value to your home:

* Complete half-finished projects. No one will pay full price for a home that has half-painted rooms or a partially re-tiled bathroom. Now that you’re selling, it’s time to complete those projects you thought you could knock out yourself but never seem to have time to complete.

* Focus on the kitchen. Kitchens, centrally located in many homes, are critical to most buyers. An outdated kitchen can lower the value of your home, and something as simple as repainting cabinets and changing hardware can provide a modern update that can increase your home’s value. Add new cabinets and replace countertops and you could add thousands to your asking price.

* Paint the interior. Whether you have just a few too many smudges and dings, or your color scheme is too "1980s," it can be well worth the dollar to transform interior walls with a few coats of neutral color. Get bids for the best deal and you’ll be surprised by how much better your home looks.

* Update or repair light fixtures. You can be sure that during a walk-through all lights will be switched on and questions will arise if a switch yields nothing but darkness.

* Repair appliances. Repair any appliances listed with the home or you can expect to not get your full list price.

Don’t bother

You might think adding a pool would increase your return on value but the truth is, most buyers aren’t willing to give you the full price you paid for installation. Other major projects, such as adding a new story to your home, adding a master suite or installing carpeting may not give you the return at the sale that you were hoping for. Skip the project and let the buyer perform the projects he or she wants to do. If you need a new roof, you might consider splitting the cost with the buyer. Many buyers are willing to meet you half way on major repair projects, since they will be benefiting from the repairs for years to come.

Ready, set, go!

Whether you choose to make lower-cost improvements or higher-dollar renovations that can raise your home’s asking price, it’s a proven fact that real estate listings in great shape typically sell for more than those that are in only passable condition. Time and again, sellers who prep their homes for sale in advance reap the benefits with a faster sale and a higher sale price.

Charles Warnock is Manager of Interactive Marketing at Homekeys, a provider of real estate and technology services in Miami, Florida. He writes frequently on the topics of real estate, finance, interactive marketing and business development. Visit http://www.homekeys.net and or contact charles at cwarnock @ homekeys .net.

Prepare Your Property Like A Pro And Boost Profits

Advertising to the "Public"

Every home seller likes to be assured that their listing agent and or their real estate company will run ads featuring their home. Newspaper ads range from color photo ads to lots of listings reflected on a page with primarily only copy. Classified ads featuring your home are another tool. Ads may also appear in local real estate magazines and on the Internet (ideally on several sites).

Of course, Realtors and their brokerages will run ads featuring your house, but not necessarily for the reasons the seller expects. The primary motivation for advertising is to make the telephone ring. Advertising creates phone calls and some of those callers become clients of the agents answering these calls. This builds up a pool of homebuyers looking for property in general. Multiply this by all the agents and companies who also advertise homes, and there is a large pool of homebuyers in the market at any given time – all of whom have contacted a Realtor. The agents representing those homebuyers know about your home once it is listed in the Multiple Listing Service, has been on broker preview, and because your agent is also marketing directly to these agents.

Through, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the agents match up their clients (computer prospecting), with available homes, one of which may be yours. Realtors then show the selected homes to their clients, who ideally end up buying one. Although, ads do not typically sell your house directly, they create a pool of clients for Realtors; and one of these existing clients typically purchases your home.

Behind the "Advertising Scene"

When an Agent or their brokerage, advertise homes they have for sale, there is more than one objective. Certainly, the real estate office wants to generate phone calls and sell houses, but the advertising also shows other homeowners how effectively they market their listings. This impresses not only the seller, but also others who may be thinking of selling their home.The advertising brings in more listings, which generate more ad calls, which produces more buyers?. Cross selling is often how your property is sold; someone calls on one home and the agent on the line tells that buyer about yours. About 5% of the time, you and your agent will get "lucky"; and someone calling on your house may actually end up buying it.

Neighborhood Announcements

When you first list your home many agents send “announcements” to all of the other houses in your neighborhood. This is typically done in the form of postcards, or letters. This too is has a double purpose: your neighbors might have friends who are looking to buy a house (but they probably would notice the for sale sign, anyway) and of course this hopefully impresses other area homeowners that might be contemplating a sale.

Open Houses

An open house can be also be helpful, but not for the reasons most homeowners think. Just like with advertising, most visitors rarely buy the house they come to look at. They usually do not even know the price of your home when they stop by- they probably just followed an “Open House” sign to your door. Often, the exterior of the home appealed to them, because the home is over their budget.

An open house reminds your neighbors that your home is for sale, and offers them an opportunity to “take a look.” Hopefully your neighbors will tell friends or family members about your house, creating “word of mouth” advertising.

However, there are other reasons for conducting open houses, too. Listing agents who “farm” a particular neighborhood use them as an opportunity to meet with other local homeowners who will someday be selling their home. Most of us, Agents hope to also list your neighbor’s homes in now or in the future.

Advertising to Realtors

Realtors are typically more comfortable showing clients homes that they are familiar with. The Broker’s Open House is a very effective means to quickly get a large number of Realtors into your front door. These realtors are hopefully working with prequalified buyers that are looking to buy a home similar to yours. To maximize attendance, veteran Listing Agents might provide refreshments or a raffle of some sort.

Property Brochure Distribution is another way that your Listing Agent may be marketing your home to other Realtors. These services hand deliver your property brochure to each individual agent in a specific geographic area. Other top Realtors employ an Internet program to email listing cards to the top local selling agents in your community.

Because Realtors are the ones with the "buyer pool", It is much more productive and beneficial when your listing agent directs most of his or her marketing efforts toward other agents. It is an easy mistake to measure your agent’s effectiveness solely by counting the number of newspaper and magazine ads featuring your property. “Behind the scenes” marketing is the most effective and most difficult for the seller to measure.

Phyllis Harb, a California native is a Realtor/Marketing Specialist at RE/Max Tri City in La Canada, California. RE/MAX Tri-City offers additional offices in La Crescenta, Glendale, Los Feliz and Pasadena. Harb has been assisting Los Angeles County home sellers and buyers since 1989 and additionally offers over 10 years experience in real estate lending. Harb has an award winning web site @ http://www.RealtorHarb.com & may also be contacted at 818 790-7325.

The Listing Agents Role in Selling Your California Home

If your home has just come off the market and hasn’t sold, don’t be discouraged. The reason it didn’t sell may have nothing to do with your home. Your home may have been one of the more desirable properties for sale. If your listing has expired and you still wish to sell, take a moment to review your situation.

Selling your home can be very inconvenient, but make the commitment to do what it takes to get your home sold the next time. With the right agent and your cooperation, your home will sell.

Why didn’t your home sell? Honestly assess your listing history. Your home probably did not sell for one of the four most common reasons:

1. Availability – Is your home easy to show? Your home must be easily accessible, if you don’t have a lock box, consider installing one. Be flexible, and allow showing times that are convenient to buyers and their agents. Do not follow the buyer and their agent around the house; go for a walk, or at the very least, step outside. The showing agent is compensated only after they sell your home – they are motivated to get paid. Buyers need the freedom to voice objections and only then, can their agent solve the issues raised. Allow the buyer and their agent the "freedom" to discuss your home, without worrying about hurting your feelings.

2. Make a good first impression – Make the Buyer fall in love with your home. Typically a buyer’s decision to purchase a home is based on emotion, not logic. A house in move-in condition invites a sale. Consider: fixing all the readily apparent defects that a buyer will discover during their first ten to fifteen-minute walk thru. Keep it clean for all showings, declutter, brighten up (open the curtains, turn on the lights). Enhance the curb appeal. Most buyers make up their mind in 2 minutes whether or not they like a home. Discuss with your agent about taking care of other repairs and improvements such as paint, flooring, etc. Because a buyer envisions only their inflated idea of the cost of the improvement, offering an allowance to your prospective buyers, is not always as desired as having the work completed. A house that makes a good first impression, sells for the best price because it outshines the competition.

3. Pricing -The proper price depends on current market conditions, competition, location and the condition of your home. If your home doesn’t compare favorably with others in the same price range, buyers and their agents won’t give your home serious consideration. Ask your Realtor to provide you with a current market analysis (a summary of comparable homes: recently sold, for sale, in escrow and expired).

4. Marketing -The first step in your marketing plan involves finding an agent who will best represent you. When interviewing agents, ask each to demonstrate how they marketed other similar homes and discuss a specific marketing plan tailored to your home. Compare, too, how much money each spends on marketing? Ask them how they advertise (newspaper, internet, call capture hotline, etc.). Your Listing Agent, not only needs to spend money, but also must spend it effectively. Not all agents are "created equal". To sell your home for top dollar in any market, you must have an agent who uses an innovative marketing approach. Eliminate any real estate agent using tired, traditional methods to sell your home because they don’t work in today’s market!

BUYERS ARE OUT THERE …AND WITH THE RIGHT AGENT, THEY WILL COME IN DROVES. Before You Put Your Home Back on the Market, remember:

1. Honest communication is vital between you and your agent.

2. Price your home according to market conditions, competition and the condition of your house.

3. Be sure your house is in show condition, some agents, offer assistance in staging your home for sale.

4. Have an innovative marketing plan firmly set in place.

Phyllis Harb, a California native is a Realtor/Marketing Specialist at RE/Max Tri City in La Canada, California. RE/MAX Tri-City offers additional offices in La Crescenta, Glendale, Los Feliz and Pasadena. Harb has been assisting Los Angeles County home sellers and buyers since 1989 and additionally offers over 10 years experience in real estate lending. Harb has an award winning web site @ http://www.RealtorHarb.com & may also be contacted at 818 790-7325.

How To Sell A Home That Didnt Sell

According to the National Association of Realtors, For Sale By Owner (FSBO) home sellers comprised nearly 14% of all home sales in the United States in 2003. The Boston Globe reported that nearly 25% of homes sold in that area during that same time period were FSBOs.

Although many FSBO home sellers have saved thousands of dollars in commissions, many others have lost money, and current statistics show that 80% of FSBOs will eventually list their homes after unsuccessfully trying to sell their homes themselves. However, if you’re thinking of trying to sell your home without the aid of a real estate agent, here are a few tips for getting the most from the experience:

Leave Your Emotions Out of Your Sales Process

Selling your home often can be a painful experience, so it’s important to emotionally detach yourself from your house and try to think of it as an investment in your future. Try not to be affected by unkind remarks you may hear from prospective buyers trying to get you to lower your price by attacking various features of your house. And although you should call your house a “home” to prospective buyers, think of it as just a “house.”

Set the Right Sales Price

Of course, you want to get the highest price possible, but pricing your home too high will keep it on the market too long, which will lead people to think there’s something wrong with your house. Look at the other homes being offered for sale in your market and compare them to yours, in terms of square footage, number of bedrooms, lot size, and other features that are similar to yours. Be objective, and then price your home according to your findings. You might consider setting a price range, instead of a fixed price, if you’re considering helping potential buyers with their closing costs.

Advertising

Signs: Pick up directional signs at a home improvement store, list your phone number and the address of your home on them, and then display the signs in prominent places around your neighborhood. Most buyers use the services of a Realtor to look for a new home, but if your home’s in a desirable neighborhood where other houses are also for sale, potential buyers may see your signs and come back later to visit your home. Place a professional-looking sign in your front yard, featuring your phone number in print large enough to be easily read from the street.

Flyers: Think like a marketing guru and create a sizzling sales flyer, listing all the benefits and features of your home.

Newspapers: Pick up copies of all the newspapers and advertisers in your area, and look at them, imagining that you’re the one looking for a home in your area. Then create an ad of your own, copying ads that most attract your eye. Make sure to list benefits to potential buyers and not just the features of your home.

Showing and safety: Ask prospective buyers for their phone numbers before you give out your address over the phone, and then call them back to verify the information. Also, make sure to have someone with you when you’re showing your home to strangers.

If you find that you need to turn to an agent for help, here are some tips for finding the right one to sell your home:

Bear in mind that many real estate agents will make unreasonable promises to sell your home for a high price, but they’re only hoping to get the listing. Like buying anything else, you need to be informed, so it’s important to compare services. Interview several agents, ask for referrals from satisfied clients, and then call those home sellers.

Saving On Real Estate Agent Fees

You also have the right to negotiate the broker’s commission. Since most homes are sold by a selling agent, rather than the listing agent, why pay 3% to the listing agent for just listing the home? Ask for a 1% listing commission if the agent does little to market your home. You might also offer to pay less to the selling agent–2.5% is a common percentage in high- priced areas–or point out to potential listing agents that since your equity is less than the selling price, you want to pay a percentage based on that figure, rather than on the sales price.

Most areas also have flat-fee brokers. Some will charge a percentage of the sales price, while others may charge as little as a flat $395 to list your home with the Multiple Listing Service. Decide which services you’re actually going to need, such as yard signs, showing help, and contract preparation, and then match your needs to the services offered.

Selling your home yourself should mean that you save money on real estate fees. But if you’re not a savvy salesperson, you could actually make more money and sell your home faster by hiring a go-getter real estate agent.

(c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Sell Your Home for Top Dollar–FAST, Home Staging, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, and newsletters, see http://www.sellfast.info/

Selling by Owner = Saving by Owner?

Interior colors are vitally important to selling your home quickly, and for more money. But you must always take your target market and selling season into account, using Design Psychology techniques, when choosing the colors for the inside of your home.

One of the biggest mistakes sellers make is to paint everything white, which will make the interior of the home look clean, but does nothing to make buyers feel and look good. Your goal is for your home to must make potential buyers feel and look great in your home. When you accomplish that, you’ll have a sale.

Consider Your Buyers

When choosing colors, always keep your target buyers in mind. If they’ll be wealthy and highly educated, you’ll want to use complex muted colors in your interior paint scheme. If your buyers will be less educated and in lower income brackets, concentrate on primary or pastel colors.

Your interior colors should also echo, in slightly lighter shades, the colors you’ve used on the outside of the house. That will give your home a greater feeling of harmony in the buyer’s mind, and since people look better in colored rooms, your buyers will also feel better in your home. As an added bonus, buyers who liked your exterior scheme are also going to appreciate your choice of colors for the interior, which will make them more inclined to buy your home.

Consider Your Selling Season

Your color choices will also depend upon the time of year your home will be on the market. Use warm-color accents, such as reds, yellows, maroons, if you’ll be selling during the fall and winter months, and cooler colors like grays, blues, and greens, if your home is going to be shown in spring and summer. Your ultimate goal is to create either the feeling of a cool desert oasis or a warm, inviting haven, depending upon the selling season.

Choosing Individual Room Colors

Consider how each room is used when choosing colors. For instance, kitchens look great and feel natural when painted with “food colors,” such as celery greens and scrambled-egg yellows.

Main bedrooms are places for intimacy and serenity, so medium shades of green or blue work well during warm selling seasons, and rouge red makes a dynamic impact in cooler weather. Other bedrooms show well and feel great when painted in soft creamy tones of green, yellow, blue, or pale shell pink.

Your choice of colors will affect potential buyers in subtle, but powerful, ways, and by using the principles of Design Psychology, you can make your home much more appealing, even though your buyers won’t even notice. All they’ll know is that your home makes them feel good, which will make them want to buy it, and that’s the most important thing.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

Selling Houses: Design Psychology and Interior Colors

New concepts in Interior Design Psychology are helping home sellers net more money in today’s competitive real estate market. Therefore, it’s worthwhile to spend time planning the changes that will help your home sell for the highest price.

Develop a general design plan, keeping your target market and budget in mind. Your overall design plan really depends on supply and demand. How many houses are for sale in your area? How many houses sell each week? Is the selling season cold, warm, or hot? Is it a seller’s or buyer’s market?

If the market is moving fast and buyers are lining up to make offers for homes in your neighborhood, you can do less. But whatever your answers to the above questions, you’ll still need to do a few things to make your home stand out from the competition.

Know Your Target Buyers

Think about your neighborhood and the buyers purchasing homes near yours. Are they purchasing their first home or moving up? This will be important to your marketing and design plan, since the psychological needs of the two types of buyers differ considerably.

First-time homebuyers seek to control their own environment by owning, rather than renting. Their psychological needs include:

Safety and security
Sense of place or connection
Comfort
Self-control

Move-up buyers often enjoy those benefits, too, but they’re generally more interested in finding a larger home with more amenities for their comfort, self-esteem, and feelings of prestige.

Once you’ve determine your potential buyers, you can begin making improvements to your home that will attract them.

Budget Concerns

Spend money only on items that will make a difference in your sales price. Of all repairs, fresh paint is the best investment you can make. New kitchen appliances, upgraded bathroom features, and updated lighting fixtures will usually give a good return for your money, as well.

Sometimes, hiring professional help is worth the extra expense. Professional painters work faster and will often cost less than day laborers. Tile installers, carpet layers, and electricians also know their trades and will do a better job than most day laborers.

Contractors should have their own disability and liability insurance — ask for a copy with your contract. Get everything in writing — including work to be completed, costs, lists of specific materials to be used, time for completion, and payment schedule.

Exterior Design Psychology

Choosing the right colors to paint your home will make a huge difference in your paycheck at closing. Look at the other homes near yours and choose complementary colors.

Did you know that the exterior color of houses selling the most quickly is yellow, but the wrong tone or shade of yellow can kill a potential home sale? Avoid yellows with green undertones and bright yellows, and choose pale yellows with creamy or beige shades instead. Warning: colors look darker on huge exterior expanses than they do on the little
paint chips you see in the store.

Color Combinations

Paint stores offer many brochures, showing various combinations of exterior paint colors, but most of them also feature combinations include three colors. Limiting your paint selection to only two colors will limit your income potential.

Think fun colors for a fast sale. Think “Disneyland Main Street,” where every shop is painted in glorious multi-color. Using a third or fourth color on the exterior can add definition to your home’s details. Use gloss or semi-gloss paint on wood trim.

Psychology of Exterior Paint Colors

Take the ultimate sales price of your remodeled home into account. Certain colors, especially muted, complex shades, will attract wealthy or highly-educated buyers, whereas buyers with less income or less education will generally prefer simple colors.

A complex color contains tints of gray or brown, and usually requires more than one word to describe, such as sage green or forest brown, while simple colors are straightforward and pure. Generally, houses in the lower price range will sell faster and for more money when painted in simple tones like yellow and tan with white, blue, or green trim.

Interior Design Plans and Secrets

Create a list of work and materials you’ll need for each room and then estimate the time you think it will take for each task. The more planning you do before you begin, the more time and money you’ll save.

Psychology of Interior Paint Colors

Daring to use color instead of bland white walls will increase your profit potential. Did you know that Lynette Jennings tested people’s perception of room size and color? A room that was painted white appeared larger to only a few people in the survey, compared to an identical room painted with a color, and the perceived difference was only about six inches! Because most people look better surrounded by color, a colored wall also makes them feel happier, and buyers will choose to buy the house that makes them feel happiest.

Entryways should bring the exterior colors of the home inside. Repeat variations of the exterior shades all the way through your home, which will make the entire home seem to be in harmony. As an added bonus, if buyers love the exterior colors, they’re going to like the interior colors, as well.

Spending time planning your home’s sale, rather than just listing it and then taking your chances, will net you more money, and faster!

Best wishes for a profitable, quick sale.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

Interior Design Secrets for Selling Houses

Turning your house into the home of a buyer’s dreams doesn’t have to cost a great deal of money. In fact, armed with some paint and the determination to work hard, most home sellers usually need to invest only about $500 to spruce up their homes for a quick sale.

A little paint, inside and out, and some good, old-fashioned “sweat equity” will go a long way toward transforming the look and feel of your home. If you have a Restore outlet (the thrift store for Habitat for Humanity) near you, you’ll also be able to save considerably on lighting fixtures, “oops” paint, and other building materials.

If you shop carefully, you can also find great sales at the various home building supply stores that are springing up around the country. They carry just about anything you’ll need, and their prices are generally quite good, compared to department and retails stores.

So how much should you spend on transforming your house? As I mentioned earlier, if your home needs only paint, you can spend $500 or less to get it looking great. But if you have to upgrade fixtures or carpeting, the cost of completely going through your home may run up to $8,000.

When you begin to approach that upper figure, it’s worthwhile to do a cost vs. benefit analysis to see how much added value your home will gain, and how much quicker it will sell once the work is done and the fixtures upgraded. If your home sits on the market for several months, those added mortgage payments may end up costing you more than a new built-in range or new carpet. So weigh each upgrade to see if it will help sell your home quicker, and for more money.

Most of the time, it’s not necessary to replace every appliance and carpet in your home to get a quick sale. Elbow grease can replace cash outlay in most cases, and will help transform your house into a home that a potential buyer won’t be able to live without.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

The Costs of Transforming Your Home into a Buyers Dream House

Home sellers who are prepared to help buyers find financing will sell their homes faster, and for a larger selling price. Think about your potential buyers: some of them will have already arranged for financing, but many don’t know how to buy a house. By offering financing options and being able to help with buyer closing costs, you can open up new possibilities for selling your home.

This isn’t as difficult as it might sound. By contacting local banks, mortgage companies, and lenders, you can easily find out what type of loans they offer. Also ask about credit scores, income and down payment requirements, special loans for first-time homebuyers, and if they allow you to contribute to a buyer’s closing costs.

The Most Important Issue for You is the Lender’s Appraisal

Many banks and mortgage companies employ appraisers who only work for them, but that practice can cost you money as a seller. For instance, I once sold a house to buyers who were financing through a bank that used an “in-house” appraiser, and I lost $13,000 in profit because of a low appraisal. Only later did I learn that the bank commonly understated appraisals, in order to protect themselves in the case of foreclosures.

Many appraisers use only past sales when conducting their market analysis, but in fast-moving market areas, those prior sales amounts may not reflect current sale prices. A more accurate appraisal will also take into account sales that haven’t yet closed and the list prices of similar properties on the market, which will give a better reflection of a home’s true sales value.

What about Buyers with “Pre-Qualified Letters?”

Before you agree to sell your home to a buyer who comes with a preset lender, make sure their bank uses accurate appraisals. Don’t sign a sales contract contingent on that bank’s appraisal. You don’t want to end up having to reduce your sales price, based on a low appraised value. You can avoid that situation by including a firm price in your sales contract and giving your buyers a set amount of time to arrange for financing before the sales contract becomes void.

Finding a lender that offers a wide variety of loan programs and an accurate appraisal will go a long way toward selling your home quickly and at a higher price. It will also make it easier for buyers to purchase your home when you can tell them that your lender may be able to offer better financing and that you’re prepared to pay a set amount of their closing costs if they’ll use that lender.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

Why You Need a Lender to Sell Your Home

In this article, you’re going to discover new techniques for marketing houses, and you’ll find that these fresh, new interior design ideas will help sell your home faster, and for a higher price than the competition!

Buyers’ physical senses respond to a home’s design, and what a buyer feels is based upon their psychological reactions to sight, hearing, smell, touch, and even taste. Design Psychology employs new strategies in interior design to entice buyers.

What do buyers want? They want a home that meets their needs, and they’ll eventually buy the home that makes them FEEL happy and will impress their friends, because they also want to be proud of the home they’ve chosen. Your choice of decorating colors, patterns, textures, and furnishings will influence the way a prospective buyer feels, and the buyer’s feelings will impact their choice of housing.

Design Psychology, unlike traditional interior design, brings into play:

Color instead of bland white walls
Furnishings for feelings
Props to entice buyers

COLORS help you sell your home to your target market. Usually, highly-educated and wealthy buyers prefer complex muted colors, while buyers in the lower price range prefer pure primary or pastel colors. Also, your color choice depends upon the selling season. Use warm-color accents if selling in fall and winter and cool colors if selling during spring and summer.

One mistake many realtors make is to tell sellers to paint everything white. White may look clean, but it does little to make a buyer feel as if they “just can’t live without the home.” White walls also don’t create cheerful feelings, and even worse, white walls don’t make most people look good. Buyers will ultimately buy the home that makes them feel happy while making them look great at the same time.

As for FURNISHINGS, use cozy-snuggly pieces in cooler weather and fewer furnishings during hot, steamy months, in order to encourage a buyer’s emotional response. When a buyer sees your home as a sanctuary from the hectic and harsh world, you’ll sell that home.

PROPS include things such as paintings, to add depth and make the rooms feel bigger; flowers or plants, in the right emotional colors for the season; and the primary “prop,” mirrors, which psychologically reinforce the buyer’s presence in the home. Buyers literally get to see themselves in the home and become emotionally ready to live there.

Costs of Transforming Your Home into a Buyer’s Dream House

Most home sellers can invest about $500 to spruce up their home for a quick sale, and a little paint and a little sweat will go a long way. To save some money, check out Restore, which is Habitat for Humanity’s thrift store, for building supplies. They carry “oops paint” and lighting fixtures for next to nothing. If you decide to replace carpeting, appliances, and other big ticket items, transformation costs for completely going through a house can cost up to $8,000.

Using Marketing Psychology to Sell Faster for More Money

Always consider your target market and their emotional needs. First-time buyers want shelter and security, while moving-up buyers desire prestige and peace.

After you’ve cleaned and shined your home, set the stage. Add a few props, carefully selected to encourage a prospective buyer’s desired emotions and paying special attention to happiness, joy, serenity, and security. Putting a little extra effort into the marketing your home will pay off with a faster sale and a bigger paycheck at closing.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Jeanette Fisher, Design Psychology Professor, is the author of “Sell Your Home for Top Dollar-FAST! Interior Design Secrets for Optimum Selling in Any Market,” and other real estate and interior design psychology books. For more articles, Jeanette’s various newsletters, and help with “Creating a Sizzling Sales Flyer,” visit http://www.sellfast.info/

Selling Houses: Cutting Edge Design Tips for Selling