In selling a home, creating the proper atmosphere is just as important as pricing your home properly. Elegant furniture can enhance a room, or stifle buyers’ ability to envision themselves there if the placement is incorrect. Depending on presentation, beautiful flowers can appeal to a potential buyer or detract from the mood of the showing. Simple yet aesthetic additions can sometimes make all the difference.

When consulting with sellers, I help them determine what their home is worth in Yardley, Newtown or anywhere in Bucks County.  I can assure that a more inviting home will result in a quicker sale and a better price. Here are three easy do-it-yourself ideas to quickly add some eye-catching appeal and dollar value to your home:

Proper furniture placement

There should be just enough furniture in each room to give the room a purpose. Remove all redundant furniture and move the large pieces away from the walls when possible. Make sure the furniture is the proper scale for the room (e.g remove a king size bed and replace it with a queen if it is too big for the bedroom.) Create appealing vignette groupings with furniture, plants, and artwork to create a mood and attract the buyer’s eye.

Use appropriate plants and beautiful pots

Add vibrantly colored flowers to a neutral-colored room to add some flair, and flowers with more subdued colors to a room that already has a bold color scheme. Use flowers and plants that match the décor of your home. Place plants or flowers in high quality containers near the outside entrance and in the foyer to welcome your buyers. Strategically placed greenery can guide the buyer’s eye as they navigate through your home. Plants can bring life to your home, but be sure to choose quality placement over quantity.

Add small tastes of home

Small details added to your simplified décor can stand out and give buyers the warm fuzzy feeling of home. Eye-catching bowls of shiny fruit on the dining room table, colorful cookbooks on the counter, a creative basket of bath salts and spa treatments in the bathroom all entice the buyer to make themselves at home. Try to focus on items that will universally affect the largest potential group of buyers. Sometimes the things that we think of as “homey” may not be for someone else.

Sometimes just a few small staging changes in your home can mean the difference between a quick sale and a long wait on the real estate market in Yardley, Newtown or Bucks County. Talk to your realtor or a staging expert to decide what changes might benefit your home. Depending on your budget, you can opt for some free or low-cost adjustments like the ideas above, or invest in the professional advice of a staging professional. Contact me for more information if you are interested in an evaluation of your property.

The warmer weather and longer days of spring may have you thinking about adding some new life to your home.  Here are three easy home improvement ideas that can give your home and your spirits a quick lift.

Spruce up your kitchen:  You spend a good part of your life in the kitchen, and after a year of use, it may be crying for a quick and easy makeover. Although a complete kitchen renovation can cost you big dollars, there are a few inexpensive ways to give yours a lift.

Start with the cabinets. A year’s worth of dust, grease and oils from handling can dull your kitchen cabinets bring down the overall look of the room. Use a cleaner with orange oil to break down the grime and let your cabinets shine again. Be sure to test the cleaner in an inconspicuous place first to be sure that it will not harm the wood finish. If you want to change your cabinets without the big investment, try adding some molding to your flat panel cabinet doors to give them some depth. You can match the finish to your cabinets, or go bold with an accent color.

Add a new backsplash. If you are looking for a different fun project, buy some ceramic tiles, grout, a trowel and a tile cutter and brighten your kitchen with a new backsplash. Whether you are a seasoned DIY-er, or a beginner, there are many resources online that can help you with this venture. Check out Lowe’s home improvement’s article for a detailed step-by-step instruction.

Get the garden ready: Landscaping projects easily add aesthetic value to your home, and can add dollar value to your selling price if your house is on the market. Your garden may have been hiding under mulch this winter. Now is the time to bring it back to life and get it ready to shine this summer.  Remove the remains of winter from your flowerbeds, trim back plants, remove old mulch and let the warmth get to the soil. Adding some inexpensive bedding plants will add some new life to your exterior without breaking your wallet.

Secure your dryer from fires:  Ok, this is not so much a beautification project, as a safety project to protect your home investment and your family’s lives. The main cause of dryer fires is not a wiring problem, but an over accumulation of lint that combusts. A few preventative measures this spring can make all of the difference.

Always clean the lint screen in your dryer after every use. Vacuum behind your dryer on a regular basis to remove excess lint. And at least once per year, use a dryer hose lint brush, like the Brushtech B68C 10-Feet Long Dryer Vent Duct Cleaning Brush, to completely empty your connector hose. Also, it is best to use an aluminum hose instead of a plastic one, as plastic heats up easily and can catch fire.

I hope that these three quick ideas can help you bring new life to your home this spring without the time or money of a major improvement.  Contact me if you are interested in more ways to enhance your real estate and get it ready to sell.

Contrary to what the press would have us all believe, people actually bought and sold houses in 2011! NAR interviews literally thousands of home buyers and sellers every year, and generates a very comprehensive review of the prior year in real estate.  What did we see in 2011?

Buyers

• 37% of recent home buyers were first time home buyers.  This represented a drop from 50% in 2010.  No doubt the high number of first time home buyers in 2010 was a result of the first time home buyer tax credit.  To me, even 37% is a very high percentage.  I know that personally, I worked with a number of first time home buyers in Yardley and Newtown  in 2011.

• The typical buyer was 45 years old, which was a jump from 39 years old, in 2010

• The 2010 median household income of buyers was $80,900.   Median income was $62,400 for first time home buyers, and $96,600 for repeat buyers.

• 64% of recent home buyers were married couples, which was the highest percentage since 2001.  18% of recent home buyers were single females, which was the lowest share since 2004.  Not exactly sure why that was the case.

• For 27% of recent home buyers, the primary reason that they bought, was simply a desire to own a home!

Sellers

• The typical seller lived in their home for 9 years.  The median tenure has increased in recent years.  As recently as 2007, it was six years.

• 87% of sellers used a realtor when selling.  (I love that statistic!)

• Recent sellers sold for 95%of the listing price, and 61% reported that they reduced the price at least once.

• 41% of sellers offered incentives to attract buyers, most often offering home warranties and help with closing costs.

The entire buyer and seller report is almost 200 pages, and includes interesting charts and graphs.  I can email the report, if anyone is interested in seeing it.

I like to look at the report and see how the national experiences of buyers and sellers, compares with what I find in my real estate business in Yardley, Newtown and Bucks County.  I will talk about the report in future posts, but it is always important for me to emphasize that, especially in our area, real estate is moving.  I have had recent listings that have sold within a very short period of time, and the market is active.

If you would like to see the home buyer and seller report, please email me at Marty@MartinMillner.com.

When working with buyers, I always stress how important it is to have a thorough and complete home inspection.  For any buyer of real estate in Bucks County, it is critically important to know that any offer you make on a house, can be made contingent on the results of a home inspection. Over the years, I have worked with many area home inspectors.  I thought it would be interesting to review what I think are 10 great questions to ask your home inspector.

There are a number of highly qualified, experienced home inspectors in the Yardley, Newtown area, and there is nothing wrong with interviewing more than one.  Here are the questions:

1.  What does your inspection cover?

At the time of the inspection, most home inspectors will give you a document to sign, that explains, among other things, the limits to what they will be inspecting.  The inspector should ensure that their inspection and report meets all applicable requirements for Pennsylvania.  They should also ensure that the report will comply with the local standards of practice and code of ethics.  If you have specific concerns about something in the house, or an area in the house that you are concerned about, make the inspector aware and be sure that those things are covered in the inspection.

2.  How long have you been practicing in the home inspection professions and how many inspections have you done?

This should not be a problem for the inspector to answer.  You should be able to review their history in the profession, and perhaps get referrals.

3.  Are you specifically experienced in residential inspection?

If the inspection is for a commercial property, you should ask the same question.  The inspector may have a construction or engineering back round. but there is no substitute for training and experience in the unique discipline of doing home inspections.

4.  Do you offer repairs or improvements based on the inspection?

In some states, this is specifically outlawed.  Years ago, in Bucks County, inspectors often did work on repairs, and I never liked that idea since there was an obvious conflict of interest.  For the most part, this is no longer an issue with home inspectors in the Yardley and Newtown area.

5.  How long with the inspection take?

I have found that the average inspection in our area takes between tw0 and three hours.  For the purposes of budgeting your time, you should have a general understanding of how long the inspection should take.

6.  How much will it cost?

Costs can vary from inspector to inspector, and it is one of the questions that you should ask, so that you are not surprised the day of the inspection. There are also some variables in terms of what inspections are needed, that will impact the cost.  If you need a septic and/or water and well inspections, the cost will be somewhat higher than if those inspections are not needed.  When I meet with buyers, I include an approximate cost for the home inspection in my closing cost estimate.

7.  What type of inspection report do you provide and how long will it take to receive the report?

I think it is a good idea to ask for samples of the inspectors report, so that you are comfortable with the format, and that you can understand the report language and style.  You also need to be sure that the time parameters meet your needs.  In our Pennsylvania agreement of sale,  there is a time limit to the inspection contingency.  It is critically important that the report be available to you in enough time that you can evaluate it and respond to the seller appropriately.

8.  Will I be able to attend the inspection?

I always encourage buyers to attend the home inspection, and I would be highly suspicious of any inspector who did not encourage that. I have never actually encountered a problem with an inspector suggesting that a buyer not attend the inspection, but you should ask the question, just to be sure.  The inspector will share maintenance information, as well as explaining any defects, and attending the inspection gives you a great chance to learn about the house.

9.  Do you maintain membership in a professional home inspector association?

There are actually tw0 national home inspection associations, and in Pennsylvania, the inspector needs to be a member of one of them in order for their report to be used as a basis to negotiate with the seller as a result of an inspection report.  There should be no problem asking the inspector whether they are a member of one of the organizations.

10.  Do you participate in continuing education?

I think this is a good measure of the inspectors professionalism and service.   The more knowledge an inspector has, the better they should be in evaluating any unusual or unique condition in a house.

I hope that these suggestions are helpful if you are considering a home inspector for a house in Yardley, Newtown or anywhere in Bucks County.  I would love to hear your thoughts.  I can be reached at 215-519-1399, or Marty@MartinMillner.com.  If you are considering buying a Yardley or Newtown home, please let me know if I can help you.

I suspect that there are potential sellers who, because of where the Yardley and Newtown real estate market has been over the past few years, have decided to put off selling.

If you’re are thinking about renovating the interior of your home, or if you are moving and want to create your own new fantasy home, I thought it would be fun to put together a list of three great sites to help inspire your imagination.  So, when you have time, check out these great websites.

Houzz.com (http://www.houzz.com)

Houzz is a leading destination site for home design enthusiasts, both professionals and homeowners.  The Houzz site and mobile apps feature more than 250,000 high quality interior and exterior photos, along with literally thousands of highly engaging articles written by design experts.  It also includes product recommendations and social tools to manage the remodeling and decorating process.

Freshome.com (http://www.freshome.com)

This site was launched in 2007, and is a weblog devoted to finding and sharing the latest and greatest products in architecture and design.  The primary focus of this design publication is to provide inspiration to make your home more beautiful, organized and healthy. I believe that a calm, healthy, beautiful home creates a great foundation for happiness and success.

Getdecorating.com (http://www.getdecorating.com)

This site is devoted to inspirational home ideas that you can choose, save and email to a friend or supplier.  Every picture has a story, whether you are thinking about renovating, remodeling, decorating a new house or an existing home, perhaps buying new furniture, window treatments, or maybe just a color change, this is the place for you.

So, bottom line, stop flipping through pages and pages of magazines for a couple of interesting photos, and check out these sites with literally tens of thousands of fantastic, colorful ideas to spark your imagination.  From staging to renovation, these are great places to get started.

If you are thinking about selling your old home before pursuing a new design, I would be happy to help.  Connect with me this week at 215-519-1399.

The table below, tracks very specific year to year appreciation, along with units sold, in various municipalities in Bucks County.  It is interesting to see, that the markets all are different.  For example, looking at Lower Makefield Township, prices declined by 6.7% in 2009, while in Newtown Township, prices dropped by 3.7% in 2009.

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For all of Bucks County, prices dropped by 6.8% in 2009. 

These statistics are based on houses that sold, and they include all homes other than condominiums. 

In future posts, I will be taking an in depth look, at market statistics, in the Yardley, Newtown, Upper Makefield, Buckingham, and Solebury areas.

If you have any questions, or would like any clarification of this information, please contact me.