My New Blog

We have all gone into someone's garage and have seen those unsightly stains on the floor that take away from its appeal no matter how much you like the other features of the garage.  With a reasonable amount of effort, you can remove most of if not all the stains.

The first step is to remove surface oil by sprinkling some cat litter directly on it and letting it sit for awhile which will help absorb any remaining fluid.  After sweeping the cat litter away, make a past of hot water and dry dish or laundry detergent.  Using a stiff bristle scrub brush, apply the paste and scrub directly over the stains.  You will then hose the area off and let it dry.  This is one proven method.

Another option is to try is to apply a product like Spray 'n Wash on the stain along with a dry detergent and let it stand for about 10 minutes.  Again hosing the cleaners off with a hose.

Finally, a last option would be to spray oven cleaner on the stain.  You should use this more sparingly and wash it down thoroughly after letting it set for 10 minutes.  Be sure there is plenty of ventilation and keep children and pets away from the area while in use.

Thanks for checking out my blog.  Please call or email me with any questions or if I can be of assistance to you, family, or friends with any real estate issues or transactions.

Have a great May!

We have all been to open houses or showings and have experienced every odor from pleasing to wretched.  Following are some tips from Realtor magazine for home sellers to make sure your house has a pleasant aroma to welcome your visitors and eliminate bad odors as a possible negative when considering your home as their next home!

Sensory research shows that the smell of a home can affect a person's mood, according to Terry Molnar, executive director of The Sense of Smell Institute, a New york-based organization that focuses on the importance of smell to human psychology, behavior, and quality of life.

A light floral fragrance can put people in a more pleasant mood, while citrus scents such as lemon and grapefruit tend to have an energizing affect.  Vanilla actually is one scent that's global in the fact that all people seem to find it comforting and relaxing.

However, you should be careful when adding smells to a home because it can be viewed as an attempt to conceal a bad odor.  And if that is your intent, it can actually make the problem worse.

Here are some ideas from staging professionals regarding odor management:

1.    Take the trash out!  It's simple, but it can make a big difference.  So before every showing, make sure you have emptied all the waste baskets.

2.    Snuff out the smoke.  Eliminate all smoking inside and just outside the house, particularly when the doors or windows may be open.

3.    Cooking prior to showings.  The smell of broccoli, garlic, fish, and eggs (other obscure dishes as well) can linger for a long time after the food has been eaten even.

4.    Pet Management.  Animals can be a big source of smells.  Limit the pet to an outdoor area or a certain room in the house that can be regularly cleaned.  Also, keep the pets bedding cleaned on a regular basis.

There are many other causes and remedies.  These are just a few important issues to consider and act on.

Until next month.  Good selling and good buying!  Call or email me anytime for additional tips or for assistance with selling and/or buying your next home!

Mike

We all have way too much to accomplish each day and feel that multi-tasking is the only way we'll ever achieve all we have on our plates.  Well, the following article explains that multi-tasking isn't all that it is cracked up to be.  In fact, multi-tasking can actually make activities longer to accomplish, your retention is reduced, and you are creating stress and damage to your brain.  Don't take my word for it, read the following copy from an article written by Doreen Stern aka The Life Doctor about this topic.  

Put everything else down while reading this.  It will make you feel better about the success of single tasking vs multi-tasking...

Do you read email while talking on the phone? Talk on the phone while emptying the dishwasher? Read while watching TV?

Sure. Doesn’t everyone? That way you accomplish twice as much. Or so the theory goes.
If only it were so. In reality, when you multitask things take up to four times longer to accomplish, along with a higher error rate. “Multitasking is a trap, declares the acclaimed science writer Dr. Stefan Klein.

Where did the idea of multi-tasking come from? So-called productivity experts pushed the concept of multitasking based on how computers work. Picture yourself sitting at your computer writing a report. At the same time, you’re downloading music. In computer-speak, you’re using Microsoft Word in the foreground, while the download is occurring in the background. Two things are happening at the same time, enhancing your productivity.

Except your computer is actually doing only ONE thing at a time, just so fast it appears as if it’s doing both tasks simultaneously. Your computer switches back and forth between tasks several thousand times per second. So fast that no information nor time is lost.

How is your brain different from a computer? Our brains can problem-solve in ways that computers cannot, yet our brains don’t have the capacity to switch back and forth between activities without losing the information currently in working memory.

If you interrupt a task you’re engaged in, even for a minute by picking up your ringing telephone, whatever you were focused on before you picked up the phone is lost to your working memory. As you check to see who’s calling, the data currently in the forefront of your mind disappears. If you want to pick up the thread again, you have to reconstitute it retrieve it from long-term memory — or look for clues in your environment, such as checking the notes you made about what you were working on.

What’s so bad about multitasking? Studies conducted at both Harvard and the University of Michigan suggest that multitasking does a lot more harm than good. People who spend time stopping and starting tasks take 2 to 4 times longer to complete them and make significantly more errors. Further, brain scans showed juggling tasks reduces the brain power available for each activity. Worse yet, multitasking causes stress: making your brain juggle activities and retrieve lost information causes you to feel harried and anxious. Over time, stress hormones from multitasking can damage memory centers in the brain.

What steps can you take?
- Resolve to do only one thing at a time.
- Make a list of your key priorities.
- Break each priority into manageable chunks that you can accomplish in short periods of time (less than 20 minutes).
- Set the alarm on your cell phone for 17 minutes and focus on one small part of the project.
- Congratulate yourself when you complete that chunk.
- Get up and take a short breather. Stretch and look out the window. And drink a glass of water, because drinking water reduces stress.
- Then recommit yourself to completing another chunk or decide to do something completely different. Consciously choose how you spend your time.
- By choosing to focus on only one activity at a time, you’ll get a lot more done and feel happier, too.

Words to live by!  Have a great February!  Don't forget Valentines Day guys!

The following information is from an article provided by Reuters News on Tuesday of this week (1/19/2010): 

The Federal Housing Administration will raise the minimum down payment for its least credit-worthy borrowers, agency announced Tuesday.

Borrowers with credit-rating scores below 580 will be required to put down at least 10 percent. Those with a credit score above 580 will be able to continue to put down only 3.5 percent. The changes are intended to shore up the agency's finances.

The FHA also will increase its upfront mortgage insurance premium from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent. The agency is expected to seek congressional approval to raise annual mortgage insurance premiums, paid by borrowers over the life of the loan, above the current 0.55 percent maximum. The amount it will seek has yet been announced.

While you should keep your credit score in good standing anyway, it is critical to do so if you plan on taking advantage of the benefits of an FHA home loan.

Be safe out there!

Mike 

When you think about "staging" your home prior to showings, furniture and furnishings are the primary items that come to mind that must be properly positioned for the greatest appeal to potential buyers.  However, your walls are a key element as well as they can be a canvas of the greatesta attributes of your house.  After all, the furniture and furnishings will be gone when the new owner moves in.  The walls however will still be there.

Debra Gould, president of Six Elements Inc offers five rules of thumb which are great for consideration when prepping your home for showings.  I will however take some exception with one of her rules.

1.  Condition of the walls.  If they are dirty, chipped, or beat up in any way, this can be a distraction to a potention buyer and can reduce the perceived value of your home overall.  Putty and paint are the cheapest investments you can make and can bring the greatest return on investment.  Freshly painted walls of a neutral color (not boring) will help maintain or even increase the value of your home.

2. Hang Mirrors.  No matter the size or shape of a mirror, there is one for every style of home.  Mirrors are a great way to visually enhance a room and even make it look brighter.  They can be a nice little extra or can be a focal point of a room.  Remember point 1 above, a mirror will reflect the good or bad of a room.  Mirrors also are an inexpensive investment to increase appeal.

3. Artwork.  Find artwork that supports or accents the qualities of a room.  Don't go with overly religious or offensive (suggestive or violent) pieces.  Be sure it isn't hung too high and visually relates to the furniture under it.  Artwork can help enable a potential buyer's eye to move around the room and take everything in.

4.  Stay in proportion.  Whether you are placing mirrors, artwork, or other hangings on your walls, consider the overall effect before hammering a bunch of nail holes in the wall.  Small items can get lost on large walls and oversized prints can be overbearing on smaller wall space.

5. Personal pictures.  Here is where I don't totally agree with the "experts".  They claim family portraits, diplomas and awards should come down as they tend to be distractions from the house.  I maintain that a conservative number of these personal items make a house feel "homey". I believe potential home buyers want to know that this house has had a lot of "love" in it and that families have been comfortable living here.  I actually prefer a few family items on the walls and tables vs cold, empty walls the make a house feel like a building and not a home.  Again, just my opinion.  Let me know what you think!

Thank you for taking the team to read my blog.  I will be submitting more each month throughout the year.

Have a safe and successful 2010!

Mike

October home sales results and what does it mean to  you...

Existing Home Sales Growth

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports existing home sales grew again in October making it the seventh straight month of increase in existing home sales. The NAR reports that sales activity in October is at the highest rate of growth since February of 2007. In the Midwest Region (including the Fort Wayne real estate market), existing home sales increased 14.4% in October and are 28.8% above one year ago. The median price in the Midwest was about the same as recent months at $146,600. This growth, as you would expect, is causing a decrease in the inventory of available homes.

Tax Credit Impact

With the original deadline for the initial first time home buyer tax set at the end of November, home sales accelerated to a frenetic pace in many parts of the country. The bad news about this of course is that December and January numbers will likely show a decline before another surge in the spring.

The NAR also believes however that there is pent up demand still out there, especially with the extension of the first-time home buyer credit and the new $6,500 tax credit for current home owners.

Low interest rates also continue to fuel home sales growth as we are seeing some of the lowest mortgage rates since 1971. The national average for a 30-year conventional fixed mortgage fell to 4.95% in October, down from 5.0% in September.

Inventory Decline

As I mentioned previously, the inventory level of available homes (including the Fort Wayne area real estate market) has fallen. The lower end home market appears to be tightening most of all. The supply of these homes is at the lowest level in over 2.5 years. Buyers and sellers in this arena are almost in balance.

Bottom Line for the Fort Wayne Real Estate Market

Now is the time to act if you have been “on the bubble”. While inventories have been shrinking, there are still plenty of homes for now keeping the prices down. Prices will increase as the inventory gets lower as time goes on. Interest rates are still near record lows, but have shown signs of increasing. The federal government is pulling back on investments which keep rate increases in check. Finally, we now have two tax credits which you should take advantage of before April of 2010. The first-time home buyer $8,000 credit was extended and there is the new $6,500 tax credit for current home owners who purchase a new primary residence.

Call me for more information and for details on the tax credits you may qualify for!

Happy Holidays!  Be safe out there!