10 tips to get your house sold

You don't want to be a seller with the housing market the way it is today. But if you have found the situation unavoidable, there are some things you can do to make your house more attractive to buyers. The more attractive your house, the quicker it will sell, and the higher the price.

1. Say good bye. You must be emotionally ready to sell your house. All of your energy has to be pointed in the right direction. You're fighting an up-hill battle here, you can't afford to have something holding you back. Start looking at your home from a buyer's point of view.

2. Get rid of your stuff. You want people to be able to see your home, not your stuff. Buyers won't be able to picture their own stuff in the house if every flat surface is already filled. Make sure you hit the closets, cabinets, the kid's rooms, the attic, the basement, and the garage. Take away anything you won't be using before you move. Furniture that is blocking a window or walking path also needs to be taken out of the home. A fully organized and decluttered home makes your home look bigger and allows buyers to see themselves living there.

3. Depersonalize. Buyers don't want to be reminded of who has been living in what will hopefully be their new house. Family photos and your porcelain rooster collection will make them think about you living in the house, not them.

4. Make repairs. Does your faucet leak? Got some cracked tiles in the bathroom? Fix them. If buyers see small repairs they can only assume that big repairs are just around the corner. Besides, you want buyers leaving your home saying "Wow, that was so nice." not "Did you see that hole in the wall?"

5. Show off your view. If you have a view, or fireplace, or some other feature that makes your house special, show it off. Think back to when you bought your home. What made you say "wow!"? Make sure you are highlighting those same features.

6. Paint. A fresh coat of paint in neutral color can really go a long way. Don't forget the outside if it needs it. I heard to paint your front door yellow. My mom swears by this tip. Yellow creates a buying emotion.

7. Stage your home. Make sure that each room has a defined purpose. If you're using your dining room as your office it's going to confuse buyers. Is it an office, or a formal dining room? Pick one and stick with it.

8. Clear the walk. Overgrown bushes and clutter are going to scare buyers away. Trim the bushes and sweep the porch while you're out there. Go ahead and rent a pressure washer if you need to. Then get some cute yellow flowers and put them on the porch.

9. Don't forget the back yard. After you've worked on your curb appeal head around back. Do you need to mow? Has the swing set seen it's last days? Use the same tactics you used inside to clear clutter and make the back yard more appealing. Maybe even a new patio set is in order.

10. Lower the price. It doesn't matter how clean and organized your house is if it's too expensive. If your Realtor suggests lowering the price, you may want to listen. These are tough times. Buyers are looking for steals, a home needs to be below market value to generate interest.

pic by: tromasbronot

The pawn shops are thriving

On the news last night there was a piece about how well pawn shops are doing right now. I’ve always been curious about which type of business would be best to own during a recession so this story really caught my attention. The news said that people have been pawning luxury items such as cars, jet skis, four wheelers, and RVs. Why does anyone own a jet ski, four wheeler, or RV if they are not financially stable? I know things can happen that you weren’t expecting but if you are pawning your jet ski before we are even officially in a recession then you needed a bigger E-fund. Actually, you shouldn’t have owned that jet ski in the first place. If you are out there and you don’t have an emergency fund but you do own a four-wheeler, a jet ski, or anything of that nature, sell it and sell it now. Take every last dollar you get from that sale and put it in the bank.

I’m not overly familiar with pawn shops so I did some reading. You can either sell your stuff or get a loan on it. You will get a little bit more money if you sell your item but you don’t get it back. If you get a loan on it then they will hold it for you and when you pay back the loan plus interest you can have your stuff back. In one article I read it said that the pawn shop will loan you about one third of the amount that they think they can sell the item for. The example they gave was if something cost $100 new and they can sell that item for $60, they will loan you $20.

In the news piece they mentioned that people are paying a 22% rate on their pawned stuff. That isn’t 22% annually. That is just a straight up 22%. So if you pawn something and receive $100 you have to pay back $122 at the end of the month. If you want to extend the loan you can pay just the $22 and extend the loan for another month.

I couldn’t help but think, can you pawn something that is financed? I looked around and didn’t see anything that said you couldn’t. So it’s possible that a lot of this stuff is already financed, that is pretty scary. If anyone knows for sure please let me know… I’m curious.

Picture by: Inkyhack