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Sohail is a Founding Member of International Luxury Society and Sohail is now a International Real Estate Specialist, aka IRES. Having said this, we can better position the marketing of the properties those are listed with Sohail of Keller Williams Real Estate. A service owners/builders dreamed of is now available with Team Sohail. Please contact us should you need more information on this. He Cares, He Listens, He Gets Results!

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Sellers Tips: Setting The Stage Sells Your Home

by Marcie Geffner

The age-old observation that "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" certainly applies when it comes to attracting buyers to a home for-sale. Making a good first impression can mean the difference between receiving serious offers for your home or being subjected to months of lookie-loos dropping by but never buying.

How can you ensure that your home will make the best impression possible? Here are six tips for savvy home sellers:

1. Focus on curb appeal. The outside of your house can be the source of a very good first impression. Keep the grass well-watered and mowed. Have your trees trimmed. Cut back overgrowth. Plant some blooming flowers. Store toys, bicycles, roller-skates, gardening equipment and the like out of sight. Have at least the front of your house and the trim painted, if necessary. Sweep the porch and the front walkway. After dark, turn on your front porch light and any other exterior lighting.

2. Clear out the clutter. Real estate agents say buyers won't purchase a home they can't see. If your home has too much furniture, overflowing closets, crowded kitchen and bathroom countertops or lots of family photos or collectibles on display, potential buyers won't be able to see your home. Get rid of anything you don't need or use. Fill up your garage or rent some off-site storage space if that's what it takes to clear out your home.

3. Use your nose. Many people are oblivious to scents, but others are extremely sensitive to offensive odors. To eliminate bad smells, bathe your pets, freshen the cat litter box frequently, shampoo your carpets, dry clean your drapes, and empty trash cans, recycling bins and ash trays. Place open boxes of baking soda in smell-prone areas, and refrain from cooking fish or strong-smelling foods. Introduce pleasing smells by placing flowers or potpourri in your home and using air fresheners. Baking a fresh or frozen pie or some other fragrant treat is another common tactic.

4. Make all necessary repairs. Buyers expect everything in their new home to operate safely and properly. Picky buyers definitely will notice - and likely magnify - minor maintenance problems you've ignored for months or even years. Leaky faucets, burned-out light bulbs, painted-shut or broken windows, inoperable appliances and the like should be fixed before you put your home on the market. These repairs may seem small, but left undone they can lead buyers to question whether you've taken good care of your home.

5. Introduce lifestyle accessories and make your home as comfortable and attractive as possible. Set the dining room table with your best dishes. Put out your only-for-company towels. Make up the spare bed. Hang some fresh curtains. Put some logs in the fireplace. Use your imagination.

6. Get a buyer's-eye view. Walk up to your home and pretend you've never seen it before. What do you notice? How do you feel about what you see? Does the home seem inviting? Well-maintained? Would you want to buy this home? Your answer should be an enthusiastic yes!

How do Home Sales Affect You?

Written by: Lankarge/Nahorney for HomeInsight

Home prices nationwide have grown an average of 53% in the past five years - what does that mean to you? Simply put, brisk home sales help keep the economy humming - they have become one of the most important drivers in our consumer-based economy.

Since 1929, stocks have returned an average of 10 percent per year, making them one of the best long-term investments consumers can make. But the average homeowner has gotten that same 10% over the past five years on their primary residence, making them nationwide feel wealthy, and this in turn has fueled consumer spending. (Historically, homes have appreciated by about 2 percent per year.)

To see a market snapshot of current home values, click here. Interested in home values in your region and the future direction of home prices? See articles about the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West.

Job Growth

Not only do home sales help keep the economy humming but they are also responsible for job growth, and help to make increasing wages possible.

Consumer purchases continue to comprise a growing part of the economy, and home sales are a major driver in consumer purchasing. Home sales provide a pile of cash to the seller, enabling the purchase of another home, or of other goods and services, which also helps the economy.

New homeowners move into a home with energy and enthusiasm, spending money on everything from appliances, to furniture, window treatments, and rugs. New homeowners tend to want to make the home their own, and spend a great deal during the first two years in a new residence making improvements, from cosmetic changes such as a new coat of paint to major renovations such as room additions.

Piggy Banks

Home values also matter because homeowners are more likely than ever to use their homes as banks, extracting their growing home equity to make additional purchases such as a new car, major home improvements, or to pay down credit card debt. So when home values are either flat or declining, those who have recently purchased a new home may be shut out of this source of money, which can have a dampening effect on the economy.

And with the average homeowner moving every seven years, buying a home at the top of a market, and then looking to sell when the market begins to move down, can leave homeowners upside down on their mortgage, with more to pay on that mortgage than their home is currently worth.

There is also the psychological aspect to home values. Homeowners whose home values are increasing often are more positive about the future direction of the economy and are more likely to keep consumer spending on the rise, supporting the economy. Even though a decline in home values actually represents a "paper loss" unless the home is sold, homeowners whose homes are worth less that the purchase price are more likely to have a more negative view of the direction of the economy, and may spend less, depressing consumer spending and creating a drag on the economy.

Rising home values are important to the economy, but home values that increase at too rapid a rate can depress the economy, pricing out some consumers out of the market. Exceptions to this rule appear to be shorefront homes, desirable retirement communities, and states with vibrant, growing economies.

Massachusetts Leading the Way

Leading the nationwide growth since 1980 has been Massachusetts, according to OFHEO. While home prices rose "only" 70.70 percent in the five years ending June 30, 2005, Massachusetts homes have appreciated a whopping 607.07 percent since 1980. This dramatic increase has been driven by sales in Boston and its suburbs, as well as Barnstable County, which includes desirable retirement and second home communities of Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

Next in appreciation since 1980 is New York at 492.33 percent, followed by Rhode Island at 469.61 percent, a state whose desirable coastline has attracted many seeking a second, or retirement home.

Many economists have predicted that the housing "bubble" will pop in markets that have gotten overheated (see the states mentioned in the sidebar). But even though your state or region may not directly feel the effects of that bubble popping through lower home values, if enough of those bubbles pop, the economy as a whole will cool down, and you may feel the effects in the form of a slower job market, lower raises, or perhaps higher loan rates.

Keeping an eye on home values can help you make educated purchasing decisions. Check home values in your area by clicking here. To keep an eye on home values in your region, see up-to-date articles about the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West.

10 Steps to House Hunting with a Well-trained Eye

Written by: Lankarge/Nahorney for HomeInsight

It sounds like a great listing - in your price range - in a good neighborhood - with features you're looking for. First impressions mean a lot - but you find the bushes are overgrown, the front hallway is covered with tacky foil wallpaper, the kitchen cabinets are painted dark brown, the living room rug smells musty, and the hardwood floors have black water marks on them.

Should you head back out the door? Maybe. But to fully determine whether you should cross this house off of your list you'll need to gather more information and perhaps look past the blemishes to get a full picture of this house's potential. How do you do that? Follow these 10 steps.

1. Start with emotion, but end with facts. Buying a home is an emotional process. You often find yourself trying to determine if this is where you want to spend the next 10, 20, or 30 years of your life (and perhaps raise a family). It's OK if your initial impression is an emotional one. But because the purchase can be the largest you'll ever make, you need to make sure you gather all of the facts you need to make an educated decision. View homes for sale and find out what homes are selling for by clicking here.

2. Look for good bones. Don't get hooked on the decorating. The town or towns you are targeting for your home search likely have a handful of builders who have built a majority of the homes. Get to know the reputation of these builders. Then, before going to look at a home, find out who the builder was. You'll want to be careful when looking at homes built by those with less than stellar reputations.

Then you need to learn to look past the furniture, wall colors, window treatments, and other decorating, and just look at the home layout and flow. New cherry cabinets and granite counters matter little if they are in the galley kitchen and you have a family of five. At the same time a family room with black walls featuring a mural of the moon on one side also matters little if it is big enough for your needs. Aesthetics are relatively inexpensive to fix - major construction is another matter.

3. When looking at room layout, avoid corner doors. Rooms with doorways in the middle of walls flow better than rooms that open in a corner. Remember that when looking for your dream home.

4. Make sure the most expensive stuff works. The two most expensive rooms in a home to renovate are kitchens and bathrooms. If you're stretching to be able to afford a home and still eat, make sure these two rooms don't need renovating anytime soon.

5. Take an inventory of features, what you like and what needs fixing. Good news: With more houses on the market than in the past several years, you'll likely be able to look at more houses before making a decision to put in a bid. Bad news: That means it can get quite confusing to remember the details of each home you look at. Develop a list and for each home you visit, take note of features, things you like, and things that might need fixing (see Keep Them Straight sidebar, above). Click here to find out about features of properties for sale.

6. Is there room for expansion? You might not be concerned with adding onto the home you're looking today, but what about tomorrow? Don't necessarily exclude those additions that don't have room and a logical place to expand, but do understand that you will be limited in your options down the road.

7. Does the basement leak? If you've been lucky enough to live in a house with a dry basement (or perhaps without a basement) it's hard to imagine the havoc a wet basement can bring to your life. If you've ever lived in a house with a leaky basement or hate the thought of a foot of water surrounding your furnace, you'll likely be sure to check that either the basement doesn't leak or it has a system that automatically removes water.

8. What's the condition of the home's exterior? Does it need painting, or is it sided? Does it have painted brick that's peeling? Is the aluminum siding chalking? Improving the exterior can be costly. Check the exterior walls carefully before putting in a bid.

9. Landscaping: Does it look like a park or a landfill? Landscaping not only includes the grass, bushes and any gardens, but also the hardscaping - the sidewalk, deck and/or patio. People are spending more time than ever outdoors and you're likely no different. Landscaping improvements can be costly, but is one area in which homeowners often tackle projects themselves. If you have the time, energy, and expertise you can save money by doing some landscaping improvements. But costs can add up here - be sure to factor that into your decision and/or bid.

10. Check the zoning, nobody likes surprises. Too often homeowners are horrified to learn that their tranquil neighborhood is being invaded by multifamily housing, a big commercial business, or a 24-hour convenience store. Before you put a bid on a house go the town hall, city hall, or county register of records and find out the zoning of all contiguous properties.

7 Keys to Selling Your House when Sales Are Slow

7 Keys to Selling Your House when Sales Are Slow
Written by: Lankarge/Nahorney for HomeInsight

What once was a booming residential real estate market across the country has slowed to a trickle.

Rising mortgage rates are lowering the affordability of homes and increasing numbers of sellers looking to cash in on the rapid price appreciation over the past few years has led to a dramatic reduction in buyers and a rapid increase in the number of homes for sale. These factors have led to too few buyers looking at too many houses, putting buyers back into the driver's seat.

It's a whole new world for home sellers. So, how do you make your house stand out so it will sell when sales are slow?

1. Price your home aggressively. When mortgage rates are low and buyers are chasing too few houses for sale, sellers can ask high prices and get them. Even when houses are overpriced for the market, sellers are likely to receive some offers, as buyers are often desperate to find a home that meets their needs.

But, when things are slow, pricing is absolutely critical. But instead of pricing your home aggressively high, you should consider pricing your home no higher than the middle of the range for homes comparable to yours. And if you need to sell your home quickly, you should consider pricing your home among in the bottom 25 percent of comparable homes. Why? With few buyers chasing many homes, you need to quickly get the attention of those who are serious about buying. If your home is priced too high, you many never get buyers to even consider looking at your home. To see data on comparable homes, click here.

2. Quickly cut the price if you don't get action. Everyone wants to sell their home for as much money as possible. Nobody wants to "give" their home away. But homes that languish on the market in a slow market often are forced to make one price reduction after another, as buyers and real estate agents may begin to question why the home has been on the market for so long. In a slow market with few buyers you may want to cut the price to more quickly make the sale. Learn what properties sold within 30 days or less and for how much by clicking here.

3. Find the right agent — it's critical. Any agent can list your house. But when buyers are few you need a first-class real estate professional on your side. They'll help with everything from pricing to advising you on the other 6 other points in this article. Find leading agents who outsell other agents in your home town. Talk with your family, friends, and neighbors to identify the best agents in your area. Interview several - hire the one who you believe will do the best job for you.

4. Curb appeal. After pricing, nothing will bring more potential buyers into your home than a house with outstanding curb appeal. Take a walk down your street with a critical eye. How does your home stack up from the outside? If it doesn't stand out from the rest then it's time to get to work.

5. Consider home staging. The quickest way to add value to a home for sale is a fresh coat of paint. After, you may want to consider home staging—either do it yourself or hire an outside firm. A home staging professional will come in and take away some furnishings and rearrange others to make your home show better. When home sales were going gangbusters this was a technique used mostly by those selling high-end homes. When things get slow and homeowners need to sell, more people find home staging professionals to help them prepare their home to make it home more appealing to prospective buyers.

6. Fix stuff. The loose railing. The broken pane of glass. The closet door off of its track. The leaky faucet. They all need fixing. If you don't have the time or skill, find a handyman to go through your home and make repairs. Also, consider replacing the old roof that looks like it might leak, the antique furnace, and the stained rug. When there are few homes on the market, sellers sometimes offer cash at closing to repair the roof or for the stained rug. With so many homes on the market, buyers can afford to only bid on those that are in move-in condition. Fix what needs repair before listing your house.

7. Offer flexible terms. Flexibility is the key now. You'd like to close in two months, but the buyers might be in a hurry and need to close sooner. Find a way to make it happen. You were planning to take the appliances to your new home but the buyers make a bid near asking price - but with the appliances. Leave the washer and dryer behind (and then go find a store that offers no payments on appliance purchases for a year). And for those items that have deep sentimental value, make sure they are removed prior to any showings. Competition between home sellers is high - you don't want to lose the only buyer who has looked at your home in a month.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Keller Williams Realty Grows

Keller Williams Realty grows to 72,303 associates in shifting market
Firm strengthens its lead as the fourth-largest real estate franchise in North America

AUSTIN, TEXAS (November 28, 2006) — Keller Williams Realty Inc., the fourth-largest real estate franchise company in North America, continues to attract associates despite shifting markets in cities across the nation. In October, the company reported having 72,303 associates and 591 market centers.
The latest tally widens the gap between Keller Williams Realty and the fifth-largest real estate franchise company, Prudential Real Estate Affiliates Inc., which reported having 64,000 associates in October of this year.
Keller Williams Realty CEO Mark Willis attributes the company’s steady growth rate in the midst of a shifting market to Keller Williams Realty’s agent-centric, learning-based business model and razor-sharp focus on technology and the Internet.
“Market trends are a non-issue at Keller Williams Realty, because no matter what the analysts say, our No. 1 mission has been — and will always be — to provide our associates with proven business tools, models and technology that get results in any market,” Willis says. “I think the associates who are choosing to be in business with us embrace our stance that you can leverage the marketplace to work to your advantage.”

In addition to adding Keller Williams University courses that address business tactics in a shifting market, the company has taken great measures to expand the Internet presence of Keller Williams Realty associates and their listings – targeting an ever increasing market segment of real estate consumers online.
“The National Association of Realtors® reports that 77 percent of today’s home buyers surf the Internet for properties prior to contacting an agent,” Willis says. “We want our associates to have an undeniable presence on the Internet, and we want them to have more control over where and how their listings are displayed.”
The recently introduced Keller Williams Listing System (KWLS) will enable associates to enter their listings data in one place and have that information displayed on Keller Williams Realty agent and office websites everywhere. Keller Williams Realty also is negotiating partnerships with some of the most popular search engines in the world, so associates can display their listings on those sites.
“The organic growth we’ve experienced in the past few years is a testament to our mission to build businesses worth owning and careers worth having,” Willis says. “Simply surviving a tough market is not enough; we teach our associates how to thrive in any market.”

About Keller Williams Realty Inc.:
Founded in 1983, Keller Williams Realty Inc. is the fourth-largest real estate franchise operation in North America, with nearly 600 offices and 72,303 associates in the United States and Canada. The company’s agent-centric culture emphasizes access to leading-edge education and promotes an economic model that rewards associates as stakeholders and partners. Keller Williams Realty, which began franchising in 1990, is growing by more than a thousand agents a month. Keller Williams Realty associates place high value on professional education and a full-time commitment to real estate sales. For more information, visit Keller Williams Realty online at (www.kw.com).

Signs of Low Inflation Keep Long Term Mortgage Rates Steady

By Realty Times Staff
May 11, 2007

McLEAN, VA -- Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.15 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending May 10, 2007, down slightly from last week when it averaged 6.16 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.58 percent.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 5.87 percent with an average 0.5 point, unchanged from last week when it averaged 5.87 percent. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.17 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 5.89 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up slightly from last week when it averaged 5.87 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.22 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.48 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 5.42 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.62 percent.

"Low employment growth in April -- the slowest pace since November 2004 -- and downward revisions to both February and March job growth tempered market concerns of future increases in the rate of inflation," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "As a result, mortgage rates were little changed this week."

"Despite a slowdown in house price growth, borrowers continue to refinance their loans, extracting approximately $70.5 billion in cash from their home equity in the first quarter of 2007, down slightly from $77.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006. According to the Federal Reserve Board, homeowners had nearly $11 trillion in home equity at the end of 2006, an increase of 30 percent over the past three years."

Tax Relief Available for Hurricane, Tornado Victims

By M. Anthony Carr
It's probably one of the worst things you could imagine -- a hurricane, tornado or earthquake occurs, without warning, and your home is severely damaged or absolutely destroyed.

One would hope that homeowners are covered in such instances, but we all know that not every insurance policy is created equal and some homeowners lose everything. Thanks to provisions at the IRS and Presidential-declaration of disaster areas, at least the homeowner is allowed tax relief for his or her losses.

The first place to go to after a natural disaster is to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's online listing of Federal Disaster Areas to see if your area has been declared as a disaster area. This announcement is what gets the ball rolling on whether you can declare deductions on your taxes from loss of uninsured property and for losses not covered by your homeowner's policy.

There have already been 26 Presidentially-declared disaster areas in 2007. These are locales where damage to property and life exceeded the normal damage from natural disasters.

While the devastating tornadoes that hit Kansas made the national news and made all of us aware of that massive damage, many other areas are declared disaster areas for such disasters as severe winter storms, landslides, mudslides and flooding. Nevertheless, just because an area is declared a disaster area, doesn't necessarily mean that the homeowners in that area will also receive tax relief. But it's the first place to start.

Once you see if your county has been listed, then visit the Internal Revenue Service's section on disaster relief. You'll see on this page that the latest declared relief areas include:


May 2007 Kansas storm, tornado victims

April 2007 Texas storm, flooding victims

April 2007 Northeast storm, flooding victims

March 2007 New Mexico storm, tornado victims
If you go to this area and find that your area was declared a disaster area a while back (several years) you can always amend a past tax return if you believe that you should have received that tax relief. Be sure to look on the site or call the IRS to find out if there are limitations on the relief.

Not all damage is deductible. The largest deduction appears to be for people who have losses and have carried no insurance whatsoever. The Q&A area answers most questions for homeowners, such as how the deduction for uninsured losses would be counted. For instance, the way an uninsured loss is handled is, "ordinarily, to figure a deduction for a casualty or theft loss of personal-use property, taxpayers must reduce the loss by $100 and also reduce the total of their casualty and theft losses by 10 percent of their adjusted gross income. Only the excess over these $100 and 10 percent limits is deductible."

As you're researching on IRS.gov what is deductible and what's not, you'll be looking for items such as Notices, Forms, Tax Topics and Publications. These are all linkable items on the web site and very useful in your research on what deductions that area allowed following such losses.

Finally, "affected taxpayers in a Presidentially-declared disaster area have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on their federal income tax return for either this year or last year," according to IRS.gov. "Claiming the loss on an original or amended return for last year will get the taxpayer an earlier refund, but waiting to claim the loss on this year's return could result in a greater tax saving, depending on other income factors.

Individuals may deduct personal property losses that are not covered by insurance or other reimbursements, but they must first subtract $100 for each casualty event and then subtract ten percent of their adjusted gross income from their total casualty losses for the year."

Here are some of the Publications listed on the IRS site that help taxpayers looking for tax relief because of a natural disaster:


Publication 4492, Information for Taxpayers Affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma: Provides information on tax law changes and relief provisions for victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Download it (PDF 106.5K, 19 pages).

Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters and Thefts: Provides details on how to figure and claim a disaster loss. Download it (PDF 132KB, 16 pages), or read Pub. 547 online.

Publication 584, Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook. Read it online or download it (PDF 139KB, 24 pages).

Publication 584B, Business Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Loss Workbook. Read it online or download it (PDF 68KB, 8 pages).

Publication 2194, Disaster Losses Kit for Individuals (PDF 860KB, 100 pages). Attention: Publication 2194 is being updated with new provisions of the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005.
For information on these provisions, see News Release 2005-119, New Law Eases Loss Limitations for Katrina Victims.


Publication 2194B, Disaster Losses Kit for Businesses (PDF 943KB, 78 pages): Contains various IRS publications and forms related to claiming disaster losses.

Publication 3833, Disaster Relief: Providing Assistance through Charitable Organizations (PDF 507KB, 28 pages): Explains how the public can use charitable organizations to help victims of disasters, and how new organizations may obtain tax-exempt status.