Trying to figure out how to get your house off the market this fall? This article, from RISMedia, is packed great tips and insights you should consider.

Many homeowners and buyers have their eyes peeled on the housing market. While groups like the National Association of Realtors continue to manage consumer expectations and provide reassurance that the housing market will steadily improve by 2008, hopes can fall hard for homeowners who are preparing their home for yet another month on the market. In this buyer’s market, the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) reminds homeowners that a pre-listing inspection or a general maintenance inspection can be a great tool for selling and maintaining your home.

“Pre-listing inspections (conducted on behalf of the seller) and general maintenance inspections are valuable investments for homeowners eager to sell their home,” said Frank Lesh, 2007 ASHI president. “Buyers today have the option to be choosy. A pre-listing or general maintenance inspection will help homeowners catch repairs before they become bargaining chips.”

In addition to the transaction going more smoothly, ASHI says that a pre-listing inspection ensures that sellers can enter negotiations with confidence regarding the quality of their home. That confidence often equates to more dollars in the sellers’ pocket.

Maintenance Checklist

According to the National Association of Realtors, one of 16 American households will buy a home this year. To make sure your home stands out from the crowd, consider using ASHI’s maintenance checklist, a helpful list of items around the house that should be evaluated and repaired year-round.

“People need to think of their home as a machine,” added Lesh. “If one thing is off balance, everything else is compromised. Our goal is to keep our customer’s homes working like well-oiled machines.”

Below are the top ten items to check-off your maintenance list this fall:

1. Check the chimney for deteriorated chimney caps or loose and missing mortar.
2. Check vents, louvers (a frame with horizontal and vertical slats on a building that is angled to admit light and air, but keep out rain and sunshine) and chimneys for birds’ nests, squirrels and insects
3. Check flashing around roof stacks, vents, skylights and chimneys which can be sources of leakage
4. Check the roof for damaged, loose or missing shingles
5. Check for leaking, misaligned or damaged gutters, downspouts, gutter guards and strainers
6. Evaluate your landscape and cut back tree limbs that may be growing too close to the roof. Also consider cutting back and trimming shrubs away from exterior walls
7. Check caulking for decay around doors, windows, corner boards, and joints. Recaulk as needed
8. Check glazing putty around windows as well as weather stripping
9. Check your faucets, hose bibs and valves for leakage
10. Keep your garage doors closed to conserve energy and insulate exposed water lines in cold climates

While some of the items on the list can be easily inspected by a homeowner, ASHI encourages homeowners to considering hiring an ASHI Certified Inspector to conduct a thorough pre-listing or general maintenance home inspection on their behalf, particularly on areas of the home that homeowners may not be familiar with or feel safe inspecting themselves.

The following article was written by syndicated Real Estate columnist, Robert “Bob” Bruss. Sadly, Bob passed away just a few weeks ago at his home in Northern California. As a Real Estate agent and author, I benefited from Bob’s advice, critical reviews of my books, and his overall way of being. Suffice to say, Bob will be missed by many people. Like many great business writers, Bob’s gift to the rest of us is that he was deeply committed to helping the average American understand complex issues, as we evidenced by this great piece on appraisals, which Bob wrote in 2006:

A few weeks ago I enjoyed lunch with one of my favorite Realtors. During our conversation, she told me about a home sale she recently closed in an upscale neighborhood for thousands of dollars above any previous sale price in that area.

As I drove home from our lunch, I couldn’t help but think, “I wonder how that house appraised for a much higher sales price than any recent comparable home sales price in the vicinity?” I sure wouldn’t want to be the appraiser who got that assignment.

When a home buyer makes a small or zero down payment, the appraisal is vital to obtaining a high loan-to-value ratio mortgage. However, if a home buyer makes a large down payment, then the appraised valuation to confirm the sales price is not so critical.

WHAT IS AN APPRAISAL? A state-licensed appraiser makes professional real estate appraisals. Any other evaluation, such as a real estate agent’s estimate of market value, is not an appraisal, but rather an opinion of market value.

An appraisal of real estate market value is an estimate by a trained appraiser of the most likely price at which a property will change ownership, with neither the buyer nor seller being under pressure to buy or sell.

But the real world is much different. There are different types of appraisals, such as a “quick sale value,” “as-is condition,” “future renovated valuation,” and others. The skill and experience of the licensed appraiser play a key role in the accuracy of the appraisal.

Until there is an actual property sale, an appraisal is just an estimate of probable market value. However, even when there is a sale, the buyer might have overpaid or a desperate seller might have accepted a below-market purchase offer.

IS APPRAISAL AN ART OR A SCIENCE? During the last 10 years, there have been many attempts to make real estate appraisals more accurate, especially with automated valuation models (AVMs). Mortgage lenders would be thrilled to be able to verify the exact market value of a house by pressing a few buttons on a computer. Although that day might be coming, it has not yet arrived.

The latest attempt to eliminate the need for appraisers is the free Web site www.Zillow.com, which claims to have 60 million U.S. homes profiled. For several of my properties I checked, I found the results amazingly accurate. I especially like the aerial views with the lot boundaries superimposed.

Then I checked the house where I grew up in Edina, Minn. Zillow reports a one-bedroom, one-bathroom house worth $1.2 million. That house description sounds like a shack. If the valuation is correct, I wish my parents hadn’t sold that house. The reality is it is a very nice three-bedroom, two-bathroom house. Zillow isn’t always correct.

However, when houses and condos are relatively similar to nearby houses, AVMs can be very valuable to help estimate market values. But appraisers will always be needed to verify valuations, especially in neighborhoods of unique one-of-a-kind homes.

Although computers have changed real estate appraisals, there is no substitute for the experience of a realty appraiser to interpret the recent sales prices of comparable nearby houses and condos, which determine the market value of a specific home. Equally important, an expert appraiser is needed to evaluate if the local home sales prices are rising, falling, or “normal.” So far, computers haven’t been able to replace this judgment test.

HOW TO GET AN ACCURATE APPRAISAL OF YOUR HOUSE OR CONDO. The Internet can be used to research approximate market values of houses and condos, based on recent sales prices of similar neighborhood homes within the last six months.

But that is just a starting point because each residence is unique. Market value depends on many variables. However, there are still a few basic rules to assure an accurate appraisal:

1.) GET THE HOME INTO TIP-TOP CONDITION. If you are buying a house or condo, the seller has presumably made the residence look its best. However, if you own the home and need an appraisal for mortgage refinancing or other purpose, aim to put the home into its best “model home” condition before the appraiser arrives.

Because appraisers often inspect three or more houses each day, and can’t possibly remember each home’s special features, it is best to hand the appraiser a list of the residence’s special features, especially those that add market value. Also, if you know of recent nearby home sales prices, be sure to hand that information to the appraiser.

A Realtor friend of mine, who never has problems getting an appraisal to match the home’s sales price, tells me, “I practically do the entire appraisal to be sure the house appraises for the sales price.”

2.) ALWAYS ACCOMPANY THE APPRAISER. Either the real estate agent or the homeowner should always accompany the appraiser to facilitate the inspection and answer the appraiser’s questions. Be sure to point out the home’s special features and benefits that the appraiser might miss during the inspection.

3.) INSIST THE LENDER WILL PROMPTLY PROVIDE THE BORROWER WITH A COPY OF THE APPRAISAL. Technically, the appraisal belongs to the mortgage lender who hired the appraiser, even when the homeowner or home buyer is paying for the appraisal.

Borrowers should insist their lender agrees to promptly provide the borrower with a copy of the appraisal. If the appraisal comes in low, the home buyer, realty agent, and homeowner should have immediate access to that appraisal to correct any errors.

For example, when I refinanced my home last year with Wells Fargo Mortgage, I was very impressed when the lender sent me an overnight FedEx copy of the appraisal.

If the appraisal comes in low, and you see the appraiser made an error evaluating your house or condo, don’t hesitate to promptly request a correction or a “review appraisal” by another appraiser (to be paid for by the lender).

CONCLUSION: Although appraisal is still very much an art, rather than an exact science, computers continue to help make residence value estimates more accurate. However, licensed appraisers will always be needed to verify the facts and use them to arrive at expert valuations.

Our founder–Ralph R. Roberts–writes for RealtyTimes.com, a leading Real Estate industry news and information Web site. From time to time, Realty Times carries information that speaks directly to homeowners, like the following Q&A, handled by Realty Times columnist Peter G. Miller, a Real Estate expert and syndicated columnist whose advice appears in more than 100 newspapers in the United States and Canada:

Question: I have a home that was built in the fifties and valued at $55,000. I have added a 650 square foot, two-story addition with new siding, roof, carpet and tile through-out the existing and new areas. What kind of value have we added? The roof is metal while the siding is top-of-the-line vinyl siding.

Answer: The answer depends on local values — in Manhattan perhaps several million dollars while in the middle of Kansas a lot less.

You can ask a local real estate broker to give you an estimate of the property’s current market value or you can get an appraisal. If you want to sell, then part of the answer will depend on whether your expansion is consistent with the neighborhood because the general rule is that buyers like to find the least expensive home in the most expensive neighborhood they can afford. Another issue is whether the expansion works with the present property — going from a three-bedroom home to a six-bedroom home and not enlarging the kitchen or upgrading the heating and air conditioning is unlikely to work.

If you would like to receive an estimate of your property’s current or expected value, give our office a call. If we cannot determine the value ourselves, we will help you identify another expert who can. You can reach our office by calling 586-751-0000 or by clicking here.

When the local housing market is in a free fall and you have to sell, what do you do? You want top dollar, you may also need to sell in a hurry — especially if moving day is right around the corner.

In a tight housing market, remember that you are competing with all of the other homes for sale in your neighborhood. The key to success is to make your home and the deal itself more attractive than what the competition is offering without giving away too much.

If you find yourself having to sell into a slow market, here are some tips to help you make your home more attractive and sweeten the deal to generate more interest in your home:

• Price it to the market, don’t be greedy. Most sellers tend to set the price too high, thinking their home is worth more than it really is. Check the sales prices of comparable homes that recently sold the asking prices of comparable homes that are currently for sale in your neighborhood.
• Obtain an appraisal in advance, so you know what the house is officially worth (based on the appraiser’s professional opinion).
• Use a seasoned Realtor, a veteran who has already experienced price wars in the housing market. According to the National Association of Realtors, a home sells on average for 16-percent more when the seller uses as certified Realtor.
• Have your home professionally inspected before showing it. Get everything repaired so lookers won’t have an excuse not to buy.
• Have your home professionally staged. A professional stager can transform an empty or overly cluttered house into a warm and welcoming home.
• Don’t move out before it sells, or if you have to move out, make sure you leave the home staged, so it looks lived-in. Vacant houses feel more like uninhabited caves than homes.
• Be willing to pay closing costs for the purchaser, up to 6-percent. A slow market is usually that way due to a slow economy. Buyers are strapped for cash and may need you to help in some way with the financing.
• Give your Realtor copies of all improvements to the home and any guarantees for anything like a new roof, furnace, or hot water tank.
• Make sure your Realtor is marketing your home on at least eight Internet sites, including Craigslist and Backpage.
• Realtor commissions are negotiable. Consider offering a higher commission to your Realtor as an added incentive.
• Keep your home in ready-to-show condition at all times. Do not require a 24-hour notice.
• Focus on curb appeal and making a good first impression. You do not get a second chance to make a good first impression.
• Be open to negotiating on things like leaving furniture or appliances behind.

Although you may be tempted to take the first offer that comes along, be careful. Not all offers are created equal. Here are some warning signs to watch out for:

• Someone tells you to take your house off the market for a period of time, and in exchange, the person will pay you more than the asking price later. This is usually a sign that the person plans on using your home as part of a mortgage fraud scheme in which he obtains a loan for more than the house is worth, pays you a little more than what you were asking, and pockets the excess proceeds.
• A cash back at closing deal in which the person offers you more than the home is worth if you agree to kick back the extra money at closing. (For more information on the problems associated with Cash Back at Closing offers, read my article, “ Cash Back at Closing: Appealing Arrangement or Sinister Scam “
• The buyer is not pre-approved for a mortgage loan. This person can tie up your home, preventing you from considering better offers.
• The person is offering no or very little Earnest Money Deposit. The lower the EMD, the more likely the deal will fall through.
• The prospective buyers make the purchase agreement contingent upon their home selling, and for that to happen, several other transactions must occur first. This is know as the domino effect, and you should avoid it, if possible.

You can successfully sell a home into a declining market and even profit from the sale, if you set realistic goals and work a little harder at it than your competitors. Just remember to work hard, stick to it, and avoid some of the common pitfalls described in this blog posting.

If you catch the doom-and-gloomnews on TV and in our newspapers, you would think we should see people hanging themselves from every visible yardarm in Macomb County and the metro-Detroit area. However, I am seeing new and exciting things happening this spring. The grip of winter is over and fear is lifting from people who are banding together! Putting aside their competitive instincts, other Realtors are calling me and we are working together to make things happen. We are not only thinking outside the box, but we are taking positive action.

In addition, homebuyers are peeking their heads out and making decisions again. The phones are ringing, the emails are filling up and homes are going on the market, which means more buyers are shifting.

With these facts in mind, if you are considering making a move, the time to act is now. In the dead of summer, it will be just that: dead. The Macomb County real estate market is very predictable in that regard. Sure, you will have to take less money for your home this year, but you will also get the deal of the century on your next home. There are deals out there that will simply amaze you. The key is to plan your Macomb County real estate move wisely and with care and take advantage of the spring surge.

Call Jeannie Sample for answers to all your Macomb County real estate questions: (810) 614-2120.

Here in April of 2007, studies show four distinctive positive buyer trends that will help sell your home:

1. We are having a baby boom here in the Metro Detroit area. It is very true! Macomb County homebuyers are having more babies in the last three years. The buyers that NEED, not WANT, are still out there buying and their tummies are out to here! Cramped quarters and living with Mom and Dad are forcing young buyers, with baby on the way, out to buy a home.
2. Our diversity in cultures is on a huge upswing. With that fact comes money from other areas! In addition, different cultures like different types of home. There is a rear for every seat and a seat for every rear, I say. We see this fact in Macomb County Real Estate all the time. This diversity helps sell all types of home in all areas.
3. Baby Boomers and Retirees are finally buying! After umpteen million years living in the same home, the Baby Boomers are retiring and finding a new place to live! This causes movement from part of generation who normally remained in one home for a long time in the Macomb County Real Estate market.
4. Pent-up Buyers will only wait so long. It is a fact that in Macomb County, people go through definite cycles of pent up buying sprees. In the last couple of years, with the Macomb County Real Estate market down, people stayed home and updated the home they currently own. Studies show that most people seek to buy another home once they have fixed up the old home. Right now, homes are being updated like crazy and it is only a matter of time when the itch happens and it starts a large scale buying spree. Don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t believe it? Think of all the people you know and perhaps even yourself, that fixed up their home and proceeded to go home shopping within six months of the updates.

With these positive, forward moving facts, your home has a larger chance of selling. They drive the housing market in Macomb County Real Estate. That is a fact.

Remember, houses are still selling. The Multiple Listing Service for Macomb County keeps track of Macomb County Real Estate and homes sold. The statistics prove that we still have movement. It is those Sellers who get creative, target these four factors, and price their home correctly that get the Grand Prize: a Buyer.