Staging Your Home to Sell in Early Autumn

It’s no secret that home staging is necessary to showcase your home’s best features to prospective buyers, and these four ideas will keep your home cozy and festive this fall!

1. Curb appeal! Maintaining a beautiful exterior is the easiest way to attract buyers, and fall-specific maintenance is an important part. Rake up unwanted leaves, patch up brown spots in the grass, and consider pressure washing your siding.

2. A few decorations can go a long way! Hints of seasonal foliage, a couple of pumpkins, or cornstalks outdoors are a great way to keep your home feeling seasonal, but be careful to not go overboard. Potential buyers want to see your home, and too much extra clutter can be distracting.

3. As the days get shorter in the fall, you may want to check that your home is adequately lit. Buyers tend to prefer well-lit homes, and the fall is no exception! Consider adding a few more lights around your home, amping up the wattage, or installing exterior lights to make your home stand out in the evening!

4. Appeal to all of the senses by lighting a fall-scented candle, leaving out a bowl of candy corn, and lighting the fireplace for added warmth.

Recent Mortgage rates

The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage are around this week to 4.14%. While these rates have not climbed significantly from last week's average of 4.12%, interest rates in the 4-5% range are historically very low. 

There are compatible rates offered by local companies.

Give me a call (267-838-4005) for the information for those companies we always work with and praise their work ethics.

Industry leaders have suggested that rates may continue to climb through next year, with many experts believing they will reach over 5%.

15-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 3.37%.

What You Need to Know About Seller's Property Disclosures

If you're in the process of buying a home, you're probably familiar with a Seller's Property Disclosure (SPD). It's exactly what it sounds like--a legal document that the seller fills out to disclose any known defects that may negatively affect the value of the home (such as known termites, leaking roofs, flooding, pets, and even deaths in the home). Similarly, the SPD can also include any work and upgrades that may positively affect the value of the home. Here's what you need to know:

1. Seller's Property Disclosures are extremely important--for both the buyer and the seller. The buyer must (carefully!) review & sign the SPD, and the seller must diligently and honestly fill it out to the best of their knowledge.

2. In our market, buyers generally review the Seller's Property Disclosure before putting in an offer on the home. In fact, SPD's are generally available for agents to access online. Interested in seeing one for a home you like? Just ask us.

3. Seller's Property Disclosure requirements vary by state and county, but sellers are generally obligated to disclose everything that they know. Unfortunately, a lack of proper disclosure can lead to messy conflicts down the road...and even lawsuits.

4. Seller's Property Disclosures are very different than home inspections. Generally, the sellers do not have the knowledge of a home inspector, and therefore an inspection can reveal quite a bit more than a SPD. We always recommend making any purchase contingent on a satisfactory home inspection.

Nationwide housing market

Nationwide, home prices, including distressed sales, rose 7.5 percent in June 2014 compared with June 2013, according to a report released Tuesday by CoreLogic, a data company. This is a moderation in the double-digit price gains seen last year, but still represents 28 straight months of year-over-year appreciation.

"Home prices are continuing to rise fueled by ongoing tight supply, low rates and aggressive investor buying on the East and West coasts," said Anand Nallathambi, CEO of CoreLogic, in a release. "The expected surge in the number of homes for sale has not materialized to date, as many homeowners are staying put and waiting for better economic times and higher prices."

Supply issues are easing somewhat and should continue to moderate price gains, but other issues in the mortgage market are also keeping the price of home ownership higher. While builders complain of construction regulations, mortgage lenders argue they are being handcuffed by a still backward-looking housing finance system.

"Regulators today and Fannie and Freddie are still reacting to the financial crisis and trying to prevent taxpayer liability," said Anthony Hsieh, CEO of loanDepot. "New guidelines or rules are never published or disclosed. This puts everyone at a disadvantage. Lenders don't know how to help credit-worthy consumers become successful borrowers, and consumers don't know what they need to do or have to become successful borrowers.”

Diana @ cnbc

Act Now To Refinance Your Home Before Rates Rise

As the federal government contemplates increasing home-financing rates, now is the best time to refinance your home. There's a program the government created in the past few years called the Home Affordability Refinance Plan, commonly referred to as HARP, which enables Americans to save big on refinancing. It provides you the opportunity to refinance at surprisingly low rates, which could reduce your monthly payments. The average reduction was a savings of about 33% last year. On a $200,000 loan, that translates to an average savings of $4,100 in the first year. And with the low rates, 39% of homeowners were actually able to shorten their loan terms as well.

Homeowners are becoming increasingly savvy, and many are surprised to learn how much they're able to save on their mortgage while refinancing. The program started in March of 2009, but is set to expire at the end of December 2015, so it's vital to act fast.

Real estate transfer taxes wars...

Real estate transfer taxes may appeal to state lawmakers struggling with tight budgets, but residents in several states don't want their home sales taxed. Who’s right?

Legislatures in several states that historically have steered clear of real estate transfer taxes now are considering adding them to help deal with mounting deficits. Although proponents say real estate transfer taxes are necessary to help fund state services, opponents view them as an unwarranted tax on home sales. Some experts claim real estate transfer taxes could have a dampening effect on an already-depressed housing market.

What transfer tax opponents say

What housing didn't get in this jobs report by CNBC

The one constituency housing needs most is the one struggling the hardest in the jobs market. Employment among those age 25-34 fell in May to 75.3 percent; this compares to pre-recession rates of 78 to 80 percent employment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Having a job matters for housing," noted Trulia's chief economist, Jed Kolko. "Just 12 percent of employed 25-34 year-olds live with their parents, versus 20 percent of 25-34 year-olds without jobs."

First-time homebuyers have been markedly absent from the housing recovery. In April they accounted for just 29 percent of existing homebuyers, according to the National Association of Realtors. Historically, their share hovers around 40 percent.

While younger Americans may be recovering the slowest in the jobs market, even those who are employed are finding themselves more financially strapped than previous generations. Non-homeowners consistently cite financial instability as a contributing factor for not buying a home, regardless of household income, according to a recent survey by RateWatch, a financial data company owned by TheStreet.

"It's understandable that someone making less than $25,000 a year doesn't feel like they can afford a home, but it's shocking that someone who makes over $150,000 a year feels equally poor," noted Debra Borchardt, markets analyst for TheStreet. "Higher home prices could be a good reason why, with homes hitting record high prices and inventories hitting a low."

The survey also found that interest rates were extremely important to potential buyers, with the most common maximum rate respondents were willing to pay on a 30-year fixed loan between 4 and 5 percent.

 The May jobs report may not bode well for entry-level housing, but it does signal continued strength in the already robust rental market.

"For young people, the housing recovery is still in an early stage: More jobs today means they move out of their parents' homes and become renters, while homebuying remains years away for many," added Kolko.

—By CNBC's Diana Olick.