Posts Tagged ‘Chattanooga homes for sale’

Before Painting Your Chattanooga Home For Sale

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Nothing makes a Chattanooga home for sale look better than a new coat of paint.  Many people are intimidated by the thought of painting the exterior of their home, and hire someone else to do it.  But, you can do it yourself, with these easy steps:

Getting Your House Ready to Paint

The first thing that you’ll need to do is inspect the house.  Look at all the walls, under the eaves and around the doorframe and windows.  Check for peeling paint, mildew and rough surfaces.

You’ll need to gather a few tools before getting to the repairs and putting your Chattanooga home up for sale:

  • Power-washer
  • 2-3” inch putty knife
  • 2-3” inch pull scraper
  • Wire brush
  • Sander
  • Chlorine bleach

Preparing the Surface

Power-wash the walls so you’ll have a clean surface.  You don’t need to use detergents; plain ol’ water works the best.

The putty knife and the wire brush remove problems where paint has peeled, blistered or wrinkled.  Avoid gouging the surface by holding the putty knife perpendicular to the wall and using moderate force.

The pull scraper is for areas that won’t easily come clean.  It’s used the same way as the putty knife, but it has a sharp blade attached that quickly gets through old paint.  The walls will need to be sanded smooth after you finish this step.

For small spots, a piece of sandpaper wrapped around a sanding block works just fine.  An electric sander is best for large areas; it’ll save you time and energy.

Removing Mildew

Mildew is a dark patch of fungus, like a dirty spot, often found on a damp, shady spot in your house.  If you aren’t sure it’s mildew, put a few drops of chlorine bleach on it.  If the spot fades away, you know you have a mildew problem.

Mildew shows through new paint, so you’ll need to get rid of it before you start painting.  A simple mix of chlorine bleach will kill it quickly.

All you have to do now is pick out a paint color and wait for the right weather to paint.  Soon you’ll be ready to put up your Chattanooga home for sale.

If you’re thinking of selling your home, I can help.  Call me today at 423-488-1882 or email me at travis@travisclosehomes.com for more information.

Keyword/Tag: Chattanooga home for sale

Links:

Painting the exterior of their home:

http://www.house-painting-info.com/exterior-painting.html

Mildew

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infroo.html

Power-wash:

http://www.hometips.com/diy-how-to/house-siding-power-pressure-wash.html

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Can Your Chattanooga Home for Sale Beat the Rising Competition?

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Any time supply is bigger than demand, businesses start looking for a way to set themselves apart from the competition.  If you have a Chattanooga home for sale, you’re probably doing the same thing. What is the competition like, though? Are you looking for similar houses, similar neighborhoods – or is the competition nation wide? By paying attention to homes that are selling nationwide, you can find out a lot about what buyers want.

Once again, CNN Money published their “Top 100 Best Places to Live” for 2009. If your Chattanooga home for sale is in a place similar to the Top 10, you just might have a much better chance at selling, especially if you market those positive attributes. Here are just a few of the things these places have in common:

  • Small towns: Whether a place is small or not is always relative. For instance, someone who lives in a town with less than 3,000 people would think Bryant, Arizona, with a population of almost 15,000 was a big place. However, the Top 100 list points the way; the population numbers range from 8,000 to 50,000. If your home is in a low population area, this could be a great selling point.
  • Robust, needed industries: High-tech industries, energy services and health care are just a few sectors that haven’t been hit as hard by the recession. These industries will be needed for years to come, and the demand for trained workers is higher in areas with these industrial sectors than in others. If your home is located in an area with lower than average unemployment, brag about it!
  • Low crime rates: For most, if not all of the top 100 places, crime is low, if not almost nonexistent. For instance, Papillion, New England has around 22,000 people. They also have less than one personal crime per 1,000 people. If you aren’t sure what the crime rate is around your home, check! Low crime rates are an excellent selling point; one that you could be missing out on.
  • Education: Education has always been important to most people – a fact that is clear with the Top 100 list. The list averages 20 universities or professional schools within 30 miles, and over 71% of the population per place has had some college. Do you have great universities? Do you live in a highly educated community? It may not seem like a big deal to you, but it will to the buyer.

From population demographics to the number of recreational activities available, everything goes into making your Chattanooga home for sale attractive to buyers. Do the research and find out what makes your area special.

If you’re trying to find your home’s selling points, I can help. Call me at 423-488-1882 or email me at tclose@realtycenter.com for more information.

Keyword/Tag:  Chattanooga home for sale

Links:

Top 100 Best Places to Live

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2009/top100/

your home is in a low population area

http://www.city-data.com/

crime rate is around your home

http://www.clrsearch.com/RSS/DidYouMeanSearch.jsp?type=community

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Sprucing Up Your Home for Sale in Chattanooga? Pay Attention to the Permits

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

A lot of owners who have their homes for sale in Chattanooga are taking advantage of the remodeling sales going on around the nation.  From tools and building supplies to the remodeling agencies themselves, they’re finding they can save money.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of homeowners are also choosing to forego the legal building permit process, trying to further save money.

 

Every building, occupied or unoccupied, has a set of building codes. Any changes that you make to your home must comply with those building codes, which means most home improvements, whether done by you or by a professional you hire, needs a permit. Depending on your locality, the home improvement that requires a permit could be as simple as installing a water heater.

 

Hire Someone to Get the Permit

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) says hiring a contractor can actually save you money and time, even if all they do is handle the permit process. They also warn that a contractor that expects you to handle the permits is a contractor you don’t want to use.

 

Get the Permit Yourself

So how do you get a home improvement permit if you’re doing your own remodeling for your home for sale in Chattanooga? Submit a building plan for big projects or a description of the work for smaller projects. The plans are approved for a fee (if they comply with building codes). Building inspectors will look over the job while it’s in progress, after it’s finished or both, and make sure you used the right materials and techniques.

 

Cost of Not Getting a Permit

It may sound like a lot of trouble to go through, but the cost of not getting a permit can be a lot worse. For instance, if a potential buyer hires a home inspector to look over your property, the home inspector may see signs of your remodeling. They might then look for the permit record. Without one, you could lose the deal.

 

As well, home appraisers may look for permit records to see if a remodel changed the property value. If the work wasn’t covered by a permit, there’s a very real possibility of the escrow not going through.

 

If illegal home improvement is found, you might end up paying hefty fees for further inspections. You might even have to tear down sheet rock inside the house so framing, insulation and other interior work can be seen. In addition, you might have to tear out what you’ve done just so you can legalize the work and sell the home.

 

If you have a home for sale in Chattanooga and are thinking about sprucing it up to attract more buyers, a word of caution. Don’t skimp on the permits!

 

If you’re ready to sell your home, I can help. Call me now at 423-488-1882 or email me at travis@travisclosehomes.com  for more information.

 

Keyword/Tag:  Home for sale in Chattanooga

 

Links:

National Association of the Remodeling Industry

http://www.nari.org/

 

Get a home improvement permit

http://blog.mortgage101.com/2008/04/18/getting-a-home-improvement-permit/

 

Home appraisers

http://www.ehow.com/how_2187046_six-critical-questions-must-ask.html

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4 Things to Know Before Putting Up Your Home for Sale in Chattanooga

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

The real estate industry is full of numbers and metrics that can influence your home for sale in Chattanooga. Here are just a few you need to know before putting your house on the market:

 

  1. Pricing – Is your home for sale in Chattanooga worth more than you bought it for? Even now, it’s a possibility. Check the average sales prices for the homes in your area, neighborhood and street. You might be pleasantly surprised. Contact your local agent for the information.

 

  1. DOM – Days on Market is the time period a home sits on the market before closing. Currently, the average days on market in almost any area are rather high, but the actual metric may change depending on the price of your home. If you’re faced with a timeline and have a set goal for the sale, the average days on market for your area is a number you need to know. Again, you can ask your local real estate agent.

 

  1. List Pricing – The average list price tells you how much your competition is going for. If you’re trying to sell your house way above the average list price, it probably won’t leave the market.

 

  1. Competition – How much competition do you really have? How many “For Sale” signs are up? The higher the inventory, the lower your chances of selling the home quickly.

 

Of all the numbers to know, these are at the top. As every agent knows, the best way to sell your home for sale in Chattanooga is to do the research – and then hire a proven real estate agent!

 

If you want to sell your home and need current information, I can help. Call me now at 423-488-1882 or email me at travis@travisclosehomes.com for more information.

 

Keyword/Tag:  Home for sale in Chattanooga

 

Links:

Average sales prices

http://www.realtor.org/research/research/ehsdata

 

Days On Market

http://homebuying.about.com/b/2008/03/10/why-days-on-market-matter-to-home-buyers.htm

 

Listing price

http://www.realtor.com/Basics/Sell/Index.asp

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Waiting for Prices to Plummet on Homes for Sale in Chattanooga May Be a Mistake

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

If you’re looking at homes for sale in Chattanooga, want to buy a home and are waiting around for better prices, you might want to rethink your strategy.

 

If you’re a market watcher, soaking up the information overload across news media and Internet websites, you’re probably overwhelmed with confusion by now. Is the housing market getting better? Is it getting worse? Was there really, when it gets down to it, a housing bubble collapse? And, if so, who popped it?

 

First, the quick answers. Yes, the housing bubble collapsed, and everybody had a hand in popping it: the government, the lenders, the investors and the general public. Now the hard answers: it’s getting better – and worse.

 

The truth is that market predictors are all on the fence. With the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) giving first time homeowners some incentive to buy homes for sale in Chattanooga and elsewhere, there has been a steady increase of sales. However, once the tax credit deadline hits at the end of this month, the numbers are once again expected to drop.

 

Again, though, it’s better and worse. While the housing market is still dropping in some areas, such as the southeast in Mississippi, Alabama and so forth, there are definitely some strong markets in the country.

 

For instance, Boulder, Colorado holds 60% of the share of increasing home values. The average value is about $350,000, but there’s a limit in place on the amount of homes allowed in the area. In Binghamton, New York, the average value of a home is around $112,000. They also have a housing limit, which means a small supply, so prices probably aren’t going to plummet.

 

Just because this is a buyer’s market, doesn’t mean you’ll get the exact price you’re looking for. If you want to buy a home and you’re waiting around for the prices of homes to plummet into a “sweet deal,” make sure you don’t wait yourself into an expensive mistake.

 

Instead of checking market forecasts, potential homebuyers need to look at things the way we always should have. Do I want to buy a house? Can I afford one of the homes for sale in Chattanooga the way things are now? By researching, crunching numbers and answering the important questions, you’ll find the sweetest deal you could ever have: a wonderful house you can afford.

 

If you’re looking for a place to call your own, I can help. Call me at 423-488-1882 or email me at travis@travisclosehomes.com for more information.

 

Keyword/Tag:  Homes for sale in Chattanooga

 

Links:

ARRA

http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx

 

Strong markets

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/08/0811_strongest_housing_markets/1.htm

 

Can I afford one of the homes

http://www.hsh.com/calc-howmuch.html

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