4 Easy Ways to Get Your Home Ready to Sell

 If you want to get top dollar for your home, some of the following tips may pay off handsomely. Review some tip to sell your home at the highest possible price.

REPAIR:  Go through and fix those leaky faucets, replace cracked or broken tiles, fix doors that don’t close properly, replace light bulbs, and patch up any holes in the walls. Put up a fresh coat of neutral paint on the walls of rooms that have unusual colors such as purple, red, etc. In the bathroom area, make sure to caulk the tub and shower.  Little repairs around the home can save a lot during the contract process.   

 

CLEAN: Block out a day or two to thoroughly clean your home inside and out. Don’t forget about those tough to access areas. Dust the furniture, ceiling fan, and light fixtures. Make sure no cobwebs are present in the corners of the main rooms. Not only will this help your home look great but it will also get rid of any odors that could turn away prospective buyers once they walk inside.

Part of this process is also decluttering by putting all your neutral non-decorative items in moving boxes or a storage facility. You want to be sure your kitchen counters are free of mail, work documents. When you home is organized the buyers will feel that you take care of the rest of the home too.

CURB APPEAL: Within the first ten seconds of entering the home, most people will make a decision of whether they want to buy it or not. Impress them by trimming the trees and cleaning up the yard. Make sure the grass is cut, the bushes trimmed and the walkways and driveway pressure washed.

STAGING:  Staging a home is considered one of the most important item to do since 90% of homes listed for sale are seen on the internet, so effective staging will make your home stand out from the rest. Make the rooms bright and neutral so the buyer can visualize their furniture in the space. Remove any family photos so the buyers are not distracted.

Consider different window treatments in some of the main rooms like blinds, shutters, or new curtains., and hang up fresh new towels in the bathroom.

Historical Homes in South Orange County

In Laguna Beach, there are 281 pre-1940s houses considered historic based on a variety of factors, including architectural style and a connection with important historical events or significant people.

35101 Camino CapistranoThe coastal bluff house at was originally owned by the Doheny family, whose family name Doheny State Beach was derived. The property is among the elite on the Historical Society's yearly home tour and displays how Capistrano Beach appeared when it was first developed.

Castle by the Sea at 2529 S Coast Hwy

 5 bedrooms, 4 private villas and 2 attached guest rooms. Totaling 12 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms with remarkable and spectacular ocean views from every room. Private parking and a dedicated area to park 16 or more cars.

 40 N. La Senda Drive

A Laguna Beach four level house built by the family of film pioneer D.W. Griffith in 1929 has a private lighthouse overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is located in Three Arch Bay and was listed in Sept. 2015 for $19.9 million.

Homes built pre-1900 are mainly in North Orange County cities like Anaheim, Los Alamitos. Vintage and historical homes built from 1900 - 1939 in South County are located in Laguna Beach and San Clemente.

Many styles built were of Spanish Revival, Mediterranean, Mission, Cape Cod, Colonial, Cottage, Rustic.

San Clemente

Historical homes can be found in the older parts of town located in the Southwest, Central and north neighborhoods.  The sizes of the homes ranges from 1000 to 2000 square feet with two to three bedrooms. 

San Juan Capistrano

Los Rios Historic District regarded as the oldest neighborhood in California features vintage cottages and is on the National Register of Historic Places with some properties still standing from the 1700’s.  Prices for these home styles range from $700,000 and up.

Orange County Housing Questions and Responses

#1: Value & Comparative Investments

Q: Over the past three decades, home prices in Orange County have risen by a factor of five while the rate of inflation has only gone up by two times as thirty years ago. That is a great return for homeowners, not to mention the mortgage interest deduction. Was this better than the stock market?

A: Stocks comfortably outperformed housing prices in the same 30 years ago, with the Dow Jones index increased by 11x from 2,000 to 22,000 going back to 1987. This statistic is another example of the wide-ranging economic fundamentals that support the increased home prices.

2: Is Orange County Real Estate in a Bubble?

Q:  Data from CoreLogic shows that the median selling price over the last five years increased by a 10-percent rate using average annual gains. Was the boom-time mid-2000s housing bubble similar to today?

A: Not exactly.  In the five year span that concluding in 2005, local home price appreciation in Orange County was averaging 18 percent per year! That number is still two times as much as today's appreciation.

#3: Rent Increases?
Q: Rents for residential property in southern California has risen this year at a 5.2 percent annual clip based on date from the Consumer Price Index. Is that increase high based on the last three decades?

A:   Yes, it is. The normal rate is 3.3 percent for the last thirty years.  Economists and investment property owners will argue it is based on demand which sustains the rise. Once housing becomes extremely challenging,  rent control, becomes more of a topic.

Homeownership Rate Continues it Fall in 2016

The rate of U.S. homeownership decreased to its lowest level in more than 50 years caused by soaring home prices that keep purchasing unrealistic for numerous renters.

The percentage of Americans who own their homes was 62.9 percent in the second quarter of 2016, the lowest pace dating back to 1965, based on a Census Bureau report released on July 28. Moreover, it was the second straight quarterly decline, falling from 63.5 percent in the prior quarter.

Rising home prices are making homeownership simply out of the question for households that are leasing their residence.

First-time buyers have found it difficult to locate reasonably priced real estate as low interest rates and a strengthening job market promote competition for low inventory. Home prices rose 5.2 percent in May from a year earlier, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index of values in 20 cities released this week.

Many experts claim that the largest obstacles is affordability. Home prices are going up a lot quicker than incomes, so it's tough for prospective buyers to save up for a down payment.

In June 2004, the homeownership rate reached a peak of 69.2 percent.  In June 2016, the homeownership rate for Americans between the ages 18-34 dropped to 34.1 percent in the second quarter in contrast to 34.8 percent the prior year, according to the Census Bureau.

The bottom five states in terms of homeownership percentage are Hawaii, Nevada, California, New York and Washington D.C.   The average rate of homeownership in California is 54.3% compared to its peak of 60.7%.

 Back in 2006. This percentage is due both to prices in California exceeding average incomes and to the anticipated rise in mortgage rates, likely to begin in the second half of 2016.

California's lower rate of homeownership should not be that alarming since it is typically lower by ten percentage points from the national average due to the higher cost.

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) reports the homeownership rate for blacks is 41.7 percent, which is less than the national homeownership level during the Great Depression. The rate is the lowest of out of all races in the USA. While, the home ownership rate for whites is 71.5 percent,  asians at 59 percent, and hispanics at 59 percent.  In California, the homeownership rate is 62.9% for whites, 56.7% for asians,  41.9% hispanics, and 34.5% for blacks.

The housing industry and consumer advocates state that homeownership can put families on a path to financial stability by compelling them save, provide a place to retire and enable their hard asset to appreciate into the future. It additionally makes people more involved in the neighborhood, effecting higher property values, and lower crime.

OC Home Values 30 Years Ago

Trulia recently analyzed median home values from the period 1986 to 2016 of the 100 largest metro areas.

What was learned is that real estate in the Western U.S. (metropolitan areas in California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii) generated the highest return of investment, fetching nine spots in the top ten. Trulia determined that people's rising income in the region along with new housing developments were largely responsible for adding to the region's housing price appreciation.

In Orange County, CA  the historical statistics are
1986 median home value: $143,210
2016 median home value: $643,483
Gain: 349.3%

For new homes in the period ended Aug. 8, 2016, Orange County’s median selling price was $742,000, a decline of 7.2 percent from the prior year.

Reports from analysts at PropertyRadar and the California Association of Realtors showed.
1. Sales Decline: Californians purchased 37,823 single-family homes and condominiums in July, which is a decrease of 12.8 percent from July 2015. Year to date, home buyers have purchased 2 percent less from 2015.

The median price of a home in California was $438,000, an increase of 5 percent from 2015. The median-priced for a condo was $417,000, which is a rise of 4.3 percent from $400,000 in July 2015.

Less all-cash buyers in 2016: Does it mean there's less cash-rich buyers or just more people applying for and getting financing?  Not really, as there were 13 percent less buyers not obtaining mortgages in July compared to July 2015.  All-Cash purchases accounted for 18.1 percent of total purchases compared to 19.9 percent from July 2015, and 40 percent of all purchase transactions in August 2011.

The Decision on Down Payments and Mortgage Insurance

An enormous hurdle to purchasing a home for many home buyers is having an adequate down payment of 20% or more. To offset that, lenders allow borrowers to to buy mortgage insurance which lets them come in with less than the standard 20% down payment.

What is private mortgage insurance? (PMI)
PMI is insurance is to aid the mortgage lender's when a mortgage loan transaction is over 80% of it's appraised value. The lender is taking on more risk of the borrower defaulting on the loan with a low down payment, so they require the borrower to purchase private mortgage insurance.

If the borrower stops making payments on their , private mortgage insurance is triggered to pay the lender's portion of the principal balance due.

For example, if you brings in just a down 10% payment to buy a home, private mortgage insurance may insure the outstanding 15%.

The fee for private mortgage insurance is dependent on the type of mortgage loan, the loan size, your down payment and credit score. Typically, the normal price can range from 0.5% to more than 1.0% of the loan amount,  divided by 12 and included in your monthly mortgage payment.

Is there a point when I can cancel private mortgage insurance?
As soon as the balance of your mortgage is below 80% of the current market value of your home you are able to usually request the cancellation of private mortgage insurance. Most of the time there are other stipulations, such as making payments on time and not having a junior lien.

By and large, mortgage lenders should cancel PMI the moment your mortgage debt falls to less than 78% of it's market value. They won't know that unless an appraisal has been reviewed or some will accept the tax assessor's value.

You're in Charge of the Down Payment
A lot of people can become homeowners who otherwise might not be able to without the help of mortgage insurance. However, consider the real costs of putting down as little as possible. 

Most industry experts and homeowners can agree that the larger the down payment, the better your financing deal will be. You'll obtain a lower mortgage interest rate under 80% loan-to-value than you would at 90%. Sometimes it's as much as 2.5% lower when it's a jumbo loan. 4.00% vs. 6.50% is a huge difference for a home in Orange County and especially California. Additionally, you will pay much less in fees.

In the end, it's a question of balancing your finances with the house, your future savings and earnings potential to figure out the best long-term strategy for you.

The Best Ways to Reduce the Risk of Fire in your Home

Once you finally move into your new home from being a renter for a while, there's plenty to consider.  If you had renter's insurance in your rental, you most likely transferred your policy to your new home. Now that you're in your new digs, you probably bought some new furniture for the rooms along with decorative items.  Naturally, your homeowner's insurance will increase with more space and more valuables.  Additionally, you should become familiar with the potential risks of fire and learning how to protect yourself, your family and your property.

Nationally each year, residential fires result in an average of $7 billion in property damage based on reports by the American Red Cross. In California, wildfires are the norm in the summer and dry months.  In September of 2015, more than 1,000 homes burned from two large wildfires in Northern California.  Wildfire or not, the following are a few safety measures to lessen the risk of fire in your home.

A vital part of reducing the risk of fire is prevention. Have fire extinguishers and smoke detectors all through your residence, especially in the kitchen. If you have a two or three-story home, have a fire extinguisher on all floors. Each of these items only need standard servicing in order to work right. For smoke detectors, just replace the batteries two times each year, and monitor the date of expiration on your extinguishers so they can be swapped out too.

With many historical homes built in the early to mid-1900s, it's crucial for homeowners to make sure the existing electrical wiring is safe, because poor wiring is among the top causes of home fires. Some of the indicators of defective circuits are walls that are hot if you touch them or breakers that regularly go off. Look out for flickering lights or sparking, electrical outlets that are charred. During escrow on the home you bought, hopefully, you did a home inspection and the wiring is not an issue per the report.  You don't want to move into a home that has prominent signs of malfunctioning or old wiring.