Betsie Melter's Real Estate Blog: December 2009

Realtor magazine had a great article on the Top 10 remodeling projects that will add big impact to your home if you are thinking of selling it ( or just want to enjoy your home).

1) Adding Rollers to your cabinets- This makes buyers feel like there is more room for their kitchen items. Plus it is easier to get those items out if you can roll out the drawer instead of having to get on your hands and knees and pull it out from the back of the cabinet.

2) Tile (either adding or replacing)- Adding tile makes the room feel bigger and cleaner. Replacing tile gives it a fresh and clean look with no cracked tiles or missing grout.

3) Add a Breakfast Bar- This gives more seating area and combines the kitchen with the family room or breakfast area. This is a good use of space.

4) Install granite tile instead of a slab- Everyone wants granite counters, but slabs are very expensive. Homeowners can put granite tile in for about $300 in materials and get high impact for little money.

5) Update the bathrooms- Adding new medicine cabinets, light fixtures, faucets and vanities and scraping or cleaning the tile grout will give the bathroom an entirely different look without having to do much remodeling.

6) Freshen up the basement- If the basement has cement block or poured concrete a contractor can fill in the cracks and then paint with waterproofing paint. In Arizona I haven't seen any basements that aren't finished so this probably won't apply.

7) Add a room- If there are rooms with half walls it is easy to enclose it and add a door to create another room.

8) Update cabinet doors- Cabinet doors can be refaced making the kitchen look completely different then it did without having to replace the cabinets.

9) Replace Light Fixtures- Changing light fixtures in the foyer and bathrooms is a quick fix and can change the appearance. Adding recessed lighting to the kitchen adds a lot to the look and buyers like it better than track lighting.

10) Tech up the garage- Replacing the garage door opener with a remote touch pad entry system makes the house feel new.

These are just a few ideas to help a homeowner get the most for their money. Updating the kitchen counters and cabinets are my biggest items on the list because it is usually what the buyer is looking at the most in my opinion.

Happy New Year!

So after 3 weeks of back and forth and a whole lot of waiting, we finally got our bid accepted for an auction property. We received the contract and have found a few things that we wished we knew up front.

1) They will only pay taxes and assessments from the time the bank acquired the property. (Luckily in this case the taxes are paid to date) but that is huge and something to investigate before you accept the offer. Also, my title company told me that most of the taxes would have gotten wiped out at the trustees sale, so that might not be as big of a concern as we thought. But good to know.

2) They will not pay the HOA transfer fees. In their terms and conditions on the website it states they will pay condo fees (also HOA) but in the contract that only applies to the dues. So we contacted the HOA and the transfer fee is $350 plus there is a buyer's capital fee of $775 which we already knew.

3) They will not pay any special taxes or transfer taxes. When I contacted the title company they told me we don't have those taxes in AZ, so I guess we are safe, but in other states it is something to watch out for.

Wow, all of the little details that they throw in there. Wouldn't it be nice if the contract was posted on their website so you could read it before you submit a bid? They have 4 pages of terms and conditions, but not the contract. How convenient for them.

We are pleased that we got the house accepted and look forward to closing escrow, but it is a learning experience from the beginning to the end. Now onto the fun part the loan! That isn't going to be any easier, let me tell you!

So, we submitted a bid to an online auction and we received a counter last Monday. We immediately countered back and didn't get another counter til the next Monday. We countered back again on Monday and we are still waiting!!! Really, is it that tough to get back to a counter? I understand they are busy, but we are literally $1500 off of their last offer and we want to get this thing going.

I feel so helpless because there is nothing we can do but wait. And in the meantime if another bid comes in we are now in a multiple counter situation. Come on banks, please get with it and respond in a timely manner.

I am in the middle of placing a bid on a property for a client through an auction company. The house was originally listed in MLS and we put an offer on it but the property was given to the auction company the same day we submitted an offer. This is my first time working with an auction company and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. Now, let me clarify that this is a company not the court house steps. This property is also not going to go to a live auction, it is strictly an online bidding system.

The negotiator for the auction company has been pretty quick with contacting me and submitting my bids. We are waiting to hear back from them on a counter we submitted to them, so we will see how well the company lives up to my expectations. I am happy to say though that the process has been similiar to how we submit offers to a listing agent and counter back and forth. The only downside is that this is an "AS IS" sale without the inspection or financing contingencies that we would normally see with a normal sale or even an REO sale. That concerns me a little bit, but the house appears to be in good shape so there shouldn't be too many problems with that.

Has anyone out there had a successful closing with an auction company? Any advice or things to look out for?