To stage your home or not to stage when selling your home
Staging your home doesn't have to be expensive, the cost can be as low as $250 to $2,500 or more. Statistics show that 95% of staged homes will sell twice as fast and for 6-10% more money! For an average home, that’s a $30,000 - $50,000 increase in sale price. With this kind of windfall, how can you afford not to invest in home staging? What matters the most is removing the clutter that may exist, emphasizing as much space as you can in your home, and creating an environment where a buyer could envision a home that they can move in right away.
Staging must start from the exterior of the home. Since the exterior is what most prospect buyers would see first, this is the most important aspect to focus on initially. Creating a nice appealing front yard with basic landscape; if you have one, would be ideal. Adding some front lighting, spray washing the exterior or painting if needed.
For the interior, adding a neutral paint color seems to work best, spacing out furniture, removing any clutter from closet space, and cleaning up all spaces is important.
Staging doesn't have to be expensive, and if you are on a tight budget its best to do what you can to emphasize your home, then to not do it at all.Prime Market Realty
www.PrimeMarketRealty.com
630 235-3848
Should I buy a home now? First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, Grants, Buyer's Market
There are many fears about the market right now. Many families face the question whether they should buy now or wait. Of-course you want to evaluate your position on if you are ready, such as your job status, financial status, etc. However, keep some of these benefits in mind, when you think that buying might be an option for you.
Everyone knows this is a Buyer’s market right now; home prices are lower than ever. With more leveraging power in this market, buyers can typically get more for their money (more space, amenities, yard space)
With the $8,000 First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit extended till April 30, 2010; buying a home has more incentives than ever.
For those with Low incomes, most states have Grants for low income families program. In Illinois, the Illinois Housing Development Authority can provide loans or grants up to $3,000 for low-income families and $5,000 for very low-income families to be used toward a down payment and closing costs. For more information regarding this Illinois home grant go to www.ihda.org
Interest Rates are low right now.
Buying in this low price market can prove to be a wise investment, and one could gain tens of thousands of dollars of equity when market prices rise. Home Prices will rise; it’s just a matter of time. Real estate, just like the economy operates in a cyclic motion, or shift. Opportunity only exists when you position yourself to see it.
How to qualify for a VA home loan, and the max VA loan amount in Illinois
Being prior military, I took advantage of using my VA loan for my first home purchase back in 2002. If you are currently in the military or prior military and meet the eligibilty requirements, then using your VA is a great option to get you into a home. VA home loans are typically No money down for first-time home buyers, however there is a funding fee required by law that is typically 2.15%. This small funding fee was established to enable the veteran to contribute to the cost of this benefit, and thereby reduce the cost to the taxpayers. There are situations in which one can be exempt from the funding fee, which this information can be found through a authorized VA rep.
As of 2010, the lending limits in Illinois for a single-family home is up to $417,000 and the Max Guarantee is up to $1,000,000.
If you served your country honorably, then you don't want to pass up the many benefits with the VA loan program.
In order to get a VA loan approved there are a few thing here that need to be covered. You must be able to obtain a valid Certificate of Eligibility, that states that you are qualified to receive the VA loan (qualifications are below). The loan typically must be for a house, townhouse, condominium or other governmentally approved reason. You must intend to occupy the house within a reasonable time period after closing. Considering that the VA has backed the loans of individuals with no established credit in the past, your credit should be satisfactory, and the income you and your spouse receive must be established and adequate to pay the monthly mortgage.
Below, are the General rules of eligibility regarding a VA loan located on www.valoans.com. For more detailed information please visit that site.
GENERAL RULES OF ELIGIBILITY
You are eligible for VA home loan veteran benefits if you served on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable after either:
* 90 days or more, any part of which occurred during wartime, OR
* 181 continuous days or more (peacetime)
TWO YEAR REQUIREMENT
If you:
* enlisted (and service began) after September 7, 1980, OR
* were an officer and service began after October 16, 1981
You must have completed either:
* 24 continuous months or more, OR
* the full period for which ordered to active duty, but not less than 90 days (any part during wartime) or 181 continuous days (peacetime)
Joliet Illinois Real Estate Market before buying selling a home
With so many questions about the economy and the overall market, its very important to be knowledgeable before making any purchase or sell in real estate. So how does the Joliet IL real estate market look these days? Currently Joliet has a average listing price for homes for sale of $162,728. The Will county average currently is $324,580. The current number of properties on the market in Joliet is 651. The Joliet median listing price is $154,917. For Will county real estate the total listings are 5,170 and a median listing price of $248,450. This compares to Illinois real estate data, which this week shows a total number of listing properties as 77,988 with a median listing price of $219,900.
Contact us for the most up to date information regarding the Joliet home market or surrounding areas such as Plainfield, Bolingbrook, or Naperville, if considering buying or selling.
Prime Market Realty
630 235-3848
Should I hire a Property Management Company for my rental property? | Chicago, Illinois
It can be common for new
landlords or real estate investors to see past some of the many issues they can
face in renting out their property or home.
If it was just a matter of collecting rent, and maybe the occasional repair
here and there, then taking on this management task alone wouldn’t be so
bad. However, when you throw in the realistic
possibilities of not always getting that perfect tenant, dealing with
complaints, worrying about compliance, collecting timely payments, enforcing
policy, proper eviction procedures, advertising for new tenants, etc, then you
can see how an experienced Property
Management Company may be a wise investment for your rental property. An experienced
company such as Prime Market Realty which services Chicago, and the surrounding Chicago-land areas, charges just a low
nominal fee that would prove to save your more money.
Also, if you are someone
who is trying to manage a property out of state, or travel frequently, it is
probably wise to hire a property
management company. Trying to manage
a property out of state can lead to higher tenant turnovers, due to a lack of
control in seeing that repairs are done right and timely. If your tenants aren’t happy with the
attention and service, they will eventually look elsewhere. When you have even the slightest turnover
which equates to; the more than obvious money loss as you will need to find a
new tenant, and couple in the fact that it could take you a few months to rent
out your rental property, then hiring
a property management company doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Furthermore, knowing the market and at what
rental rate to charge, and when to increase rates are very important to your
bottom-line. You could lose out on thousands
of dollars, or even in the tens of thousands, by not pricing it right throughout
the rental lifetime. A property management company such as Prime
Market Realty, which offers full real estate services, has market analysis in
every city and neighborhood in Chicago,
and the Chicago-land area. Our
advertising ensures that you get the right tenant in the shortest period of
time.
There are even more reasons
that one might consider using a property management company. Let Prime Market Realty demonstrate how we
can not only maintain your property value, but help to increase it while
increasing positive cash flow from your property investment.
Prime Market Realty
630 235-3848
