We all know that as things age, they often need replacing but sometimes homeowners neglect to take care of their home’s electrical wiring and that can set them up for potential danger. Electrical consumption since the middle of the last century has increased in most homes on average about 400 percent.

If you’re tripping your main safety circuit box that could be a sign that you’re overloading the electrical outlets and an indication that an electrical contractor should examine your wiring. Oftentimes, homes are renovated several times without any electrical wiring updated. Yet, this is a part of the house that can cause huge problems if it isn’t kept up-to-date.

Outdated circuit boxes.

When a home hits the 40-year mark the biggest area of electrical concern is the circuit breaker box. Zack Israel, owner of Mike Electric, says that when the circuit box becomes outdated, “it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do.” He says that as the house ages, the brand of the circuit box becomes obsolete “and today, a new generation of improved boxes is being installed.” Israel cautions homeowners about the danger of not replacing an old and outdated circuit box. “If the breaker doesn’t trip then the wire might melt and cause a fire,” says Israel.

Kitchen wiring upgrades.

An area of an older home that typically needs upgraded wiring is the kitchen. “The kitchen is an area that always needs to be upgraded after 40 years. Several decades ago we didn’t have microwaves and all the appliances that we have today,” says Israel. He says that what can happen if the kitchen wiring isn’t upgraded is that when appliances are used, the circuit breaker trips or, even worse, it doesn’t trip at all. “So the kitchen is an area that you want to upgrade and bring more power to it,” he says.

The electrical code requires two circuits of 20-amps, 120 volts for GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) receptacles for the kitchen/eating area. However, more might be necessary depending on appliances being used.

Heavy-duty appliances need dedicated outlet.

A common problem for homeowners occurs when there isn’t proper distribution of the electrical circuits. Israel says homeowners often don’t understand this. “Let’s say for example that [depending on the weather] a homeowner tries to use a portable air conditioning system or heater and plugs it into just any plug – and boom! there’s no power – it trips the circuit. This is common. People don’t know that they need a dedicated circuit for that kind of appliance,” says Israel.

Wire insulation cracks.

Another big problem for older homes is that electrical wiring insulation cracks. “Especially in the ceiling lights, the heat from the light rises into the box and causes the wiring insulation to crack,” says Israel. When homeowners consider tackling the task of rewiring their home they’re often overwhelmed by it—feeling like it will be too expensive and too much trouble. While it is true rewiring can be a major renovation that, in some cases, even means the homeowner must leave the home for a period of time – due to electricity needing to be turned off or just the inconvenience of living with workers in your home — the end result of peace of mind from knowing your electrical system is working properly and no longer at risk of causing a fire – (a major concern of home insurers) – is well worth the expense and any temporary hassles.

Written by Phoebe Chongchua

  As beloved as pets may be to sellers they can be a detriment to the sale of a home.

One of the main reasons has to do with how convenient it is for buyers to see your home. There can be issues caused by the pets that make seeing your home more difficult than viewing other properties. For instance, if sellers have to be called first before their home can be shown this can make it less appealing to buyers and agents.

“You’ve got issues of access because you might have special pet instructions such as remove pets prior to entering home,” says Benjamin Little, with John Hall & Associates in Scottsdale, Arizona. He says that makes it so agents and buyers have to set special appointments. “And in today’s market, anything that impedes a showing is a hindrance to selling the house,” cautions Little.

It’s not just access to viewing the property that causes the problem. Sometimes, regardless of how friendly the pet is, potential buyers can be reluctant to enter the home.

“You might have an overly friendly dog, but the buyer still isn’t comfortable being in the room with the dog and it could reduce the show time,” says Little.

He gives this example. “I was showing a house recently and the sellers left the house. I felt they should have taken the dogs, because an important feature was going out back and seeing the horse set-up on the property but potential buyers weren’t allowed outside because of the dogs,” says Little. He says the seller’s dogs were left in the backyard and the laundry room. There was even a note from the sellers warning buyers and agents that the sellers were unsure of how friendly their dogs were. This makes viewing the home not only uncomfortable but potentially unsafe.

Little says as a result, the showing time was compromised and his clients were not able to see several features of the property such as the horse area, laundry room, and garage.

The longer buyers stay in a home, the more likely they are to be considering it for their own residence.

Even if you don’t leave notes about potentially unfriendly pets, sellers should also consider the stigma that goes along with listing a home for sale when it’s obvious a pet is living in it.

“If the house smells anything like a pet and buyers see the pet, it is a definite problem because non-pet owners are not sure that they can ever get that smell out of the home,” says Little.

However, Little says pets can also cause potential buyers to assume there are problems with the house even when there aren’t any.

Little says he worked with a buyer that didn’t want any home that had a cat in it even if she couldn’t see evidence of a cat living in the home. Her feeling was that cats are climbing around on everything and getting things dirty. Little says that when buyers learn that a pet lives in the house, it can be hard to shake the negative image they create. “The house may be spotless but they already have that image in their mind,” says Little.

“Sellers need to understand that they may be comfortable with their pet, but the general public won’t be; so they need to do everything they can to make the home as accessible as possible. They need to really have a protocol for getting the pets out of the house before a showing,” says Little.

Little says removing pets or putting them in an area of the property that is not considered vital to selling the home is going to create a better experience for potential buyers.

He also recommends asking for advice from people who are non-pet owners. Little says, “You should ask your friends if there is any smell or how they would feel if they saw the cat or dog in the house?” But not all pets are a potential hindrance to showing a home. Some pets can actually help to sell a home. “A fish tank can be considered exotic and help to enhance the color of the home, says Little. And if it’s a horse property, by all means, have a horse there!

“The horse can actually be a bonus if you’re marketing a horse property. So in that sense, the pet actually enhances the property,” says Little.

But for the most part, sellers have to remember that even though their pet may be treated like family, there’s still good reason that man’s best friend isn’t always friendly to the most successful real estate deals.

Written by Phoebe Chongchua

  There are inappropriate steps sellers can take when it comes time to put their house on the market.

For instance, the seller who thought the half bath the builder had located at the front of the house would really be better situated toward the back of the main level (though all the other similar models had the powder room in the same place for the previous 20 years). He got hung up on this detail so much, that he just had to move it — and did — for thousands of dollars, just so he could get it on the market the “right way.” His hang-up may have settled some deep-seated emotional need for him, but it didn’t draw any more buyers, and it drained his bottom line. You might say, that was a costly mistake.

Real estate broker and author Sid Davis has identified in his book “A Survival Guide to Selling a Home,” seven costly mistakes that many sellers make when it comes time to put their home on the market. In my business, I’ve seen each one of these mistakes played out and it just makes me shake my head as to why, sellers forge ahead with unwise strategies, instead of listening to the voice of an experienced professional.

Mistake 1: Putting the home on the market before it’s ready. Most times this happens because the seller gets impatient or is a procrastinator and has pushed himself up against a moving deadline without getting the pre-sale work done. So it comes on the market with the horrible carpet (that gets replaced during the marketing of the home); or they are painting it while it goes on the market. Presentation is everything — so get the work done before marketing the property.

Mistake 2: Over improving the home for the neighborhood. This happens with additions, bump outs, and upgrades that make the home stick out from among its competitors so much that it’s an anomaly, instead of a nice addition to the community.

Mistake 3: Pricing the home based on what the seller wants to net. This pricing strategy always ends in failure. Sellers can control the “asking” price, but they don’t control the “sales” price. The market does. It doesn’t matter what the seller wants, the price is determined by the black-and-white, matter-of-fact reality of the market.

Mistake 4: Hiring an agent based on non-business factors. It might be nice to hand over your largest asset to your nephew who just got his license — but make sure you understand the consequences if your deal starts going south.

Mistake 5: Getting emotionally involved in the sale of the home. This is one of the biggest challenges home sellers face when putting their house on the market. Once you decide to sell your house, it’s no longer a home, but a commodity. It needs to be prepared as a commodity, marketed as a commodity, and priced as a commodity. It doesn’t matter what you “want,” only what the market can bear on pricing. People are going to come in to kick the tires, so to speak, and you can’t get emotional about how they may or may not appreciate the nuances of your home of seven years.

Mistake 6: Trying to cover up problems, or not disclosing them. Most states have a property disclosure/disclaimer form — use it wisely. Just because you disclaim doesn’t mean you cannot be sued later for the leaky basement, or dilapidated heating/air system that’s discovered 30 days after settlement.

Mistake 7: Not getting your ducks lined up before trying to sell. This would involve financing, reading the fine print on your current mortgage to ensure no pre-payment penalties, not listening to the particulars of your local market, etc. If your local market is dictating lower home prices, then lower it early, not later — it will cost you more. If the local market dictates selling your home first, then buying second, do it in that order, or vice versa.

Avoiding these mistakes is not that difficult. Your REALTOR® is there to help you step over the pitfalls.

Written by M. Anthony Carr

If the latest numbers on credit card delinquency are any indicator, U.S. consumers are starting to get a handle on their credit card debt. In the 3rd quarter of this year, according to data from TransUnion, a credit reporting agency, the delinquency rate dropped to 1.1 percent.

The Associated press reports: “The decline is significant because of its timing. Delinquency rates usually rise in the third quarter from the prior period as people spend on summer vacations and back-to-school shopping,” said Clifton O’Neal, a TransUnion spokesman.” How you handle your debt affects your credit score and rating, which is what affects your ability to get a loan to purchase a home. The good thing about credit scores is that they are merely a snapshot of your credit at a given time. Missed payments, high credit vs. limits, too much credit, et. al., can all be corrected and cleaned up and your credit score return to a new high level.

Tim McLaughlin, senior vice president of Weichert Financial Services, answers the question – what dings on your credit affect your score and why it seems all the good loans, seem to favor those with good credit.

The Fair Isaac Corporation maintains the most popularly used score (referred to as the FICO score) and it ranges from 300 to 850.

“There are five major ‘dings’ that impact your DCS (Decision Credit Score, or FICO score) the most, some obvious, some not so obvious:

Maxed out credit cards: Doesn’t seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, right? Oh, it is: a maxed out credit card can reduce your DCS anywhere from 10 to 45 points, according to Fair Isaac, a hefty price to pay for accumulating debt.

30 Day late mortgage payment: In addition to the late fees, this occurrence adversely impacts your DCS by 60 to 110 points … a whopping impact for being late on your mortgage.

Debt settlement: Also known as debt arbitration or debt negotiation, it is an approach to debt reduction in which the debtor and creditor agree on a reduced balance that will be regarded as payment in full. The downside, a 45 to 125 point drop in your DCS.

Foreclosure: Unfortunately, an occurrence we are seeing far too often as of late. In addition to the event, it will reduce your DCS 85 to 160 points.

Bankruptcy: The event that would have the single biggest negative impact on your DCS, reducing your score 130 to 240 points; an almost irreparable event.

FICO has its own web site dealing with the scoring prices and it’s a good starting place for those trying to repair their credit rating.

Here are the three credit reporting agencies that use the FICO score:

  Over the years all of us have accumulated an enormous amount of stuff — some of it is near and dear to our heart and the rest, well, we might classify it as just cumbersome stuff. But somehow when we downsize from, say, a 3,600 square foot home to a 1,700 square foot home, as one reader who telephoned me is doing, figuring out what to take and what to leave behind can be a painful process.

Joanne O’Donnell, designer and owner of Chic Home Interiors says she gives her clients a lifestyle questionnaire so that she can learn what is important to her clients. This allows her the opportunity to help her clients make the best decisions about what things they will really need and want in their newly-downsized home.

“How can that furniture be used in that new house considering the way that person lives,” says O’Donnell.

“Anything you haven’t used in a year get rid of it,” says O’Donnell

“What do you not like or not care about? You want to purge — give away or sell things that you don’t like,” says O’Donnell.

Five Tips for making the move lighter and more efficient

1. Get rid of items that you haven’t used in a year.

This can be a really challenging task for packrats. If you’ve lived in a home for a good number of years, then it’s likely that you have a lot of stuff that you probably haven’t used and won’t use jammed away in the garage, basement, attics, and under beds! If you’re selling your home, lightening the load will help your home appear less cluttered and more appealing to potential buyers. Also, when you move you won’t have as much hassle if you can part with items that haven’t served a purpose in the last 365 days.

“Packrats are a species unto themselves and you have to deal with them gently,” says O’Donnell. She says this is an opportunity to de-clutter and if people really find “they need the item, they’ll buy it again.” But she adds, “I will bet that they will not buy it again.”

2. Study the configuration of the new house and determine how your existing furniture will work in it.

This can be a real eye-opener for many homeowners. Sometimes what they have just won’t work due to room sizes, placement of doors, windows, etc. They sometimes run out and buy new furniture without properly measuring it and then end up stuck with a piece that might be quite lovely but completely wrong for their new home.

3. Make a list of your cherished items.

Everyone has those items that you simply can’t bear to part with. O’Donnell says make a list and set those items aside so that they don’t get lost in the move. Identifying the items beforehand and knowing their significance will help you to see exactly how many things are in the must-keep category. This can also help you to let go of other things that aren’t as necessary and will likely end up as clutter in your new home.

4. Bring only items that support the theme of your new home.

When moving, often people want to take everything whether or not it fits the theme and feel of their new environment. It’s a good idea to get clear about how you want your new home to look before you start unloading or packing up the entire contents of your current home. Taking only the items that will support your theme will end up creating a lighter load when moving but also will provide you with more space to add appropriate pieces that you might find from your new community.

5. Package boxes using color-coded system.

Marking your moving boxes using a color-coded and numbered-box system and tracking the content in a three-ring binder will make the downsize move a breeze.

“Every box from the living room would be red and every box from the kitchen would be green, etc. And you put the color-coding on all four sides, always in the same corner,” says O’Donnell. She adds that you should keep a list of the number of boxes for each room and a general idea of the contents in it.

But, O’Donnell cautions, don’t be tempted to take a box that is half full with items from one room and combine it with items from another room. It’ll mess up your system and create chaos at the new location. If a box isn’t completely filled, fill it with newspapers and start with a fresh box for another room.

Written by Phoebe Chongchua

  Some homeowners have a long laundry list of to-do repairs and, interestingly enough, many of those items don’t get addressed until (or if at all) it’s time to sell the house.

In hot real estate markets, repairs are sometimes not done before the sale. Remember bidding wars over properties that needed work? Well, today sellers are looking for the advantage that makes their home stand out.

While fixing up a home to sell can be costly, there are some ways to reduce the damage to your wallet. Cheryl Reed from Angie’s List recently spoke about important repairs that shouldn’t be overlooked. They are: changing your furnace air filters regularly, fixing leaky faucets/toilets, repairing caulking issues in the bathroom and defective electrical outlets/wiring.

“Our experts in the heating ventilation air conditioning industry tell us that 60 percent of all their service calls start because it’s a dirty filter issue. If you have a dirty filter, it affects the efficiency of your furnace,” says Reed. She says that it’s a simple and easy repair that improves the air quality and saves you money. “You can save about $100 a year if you just change those filters when you should.”

She recommends checking your air filter every time you get your energy bill. “If it’s dirty and you can tell, you can see it; just switch it out. You can buy a number of air filters ranging from moderately good to really expensive and high efficiency, in terms of cleaning the air. You have a number of different options, depending on your budget,” says Reed. She also says, depending on health conditions of those living in the home, changing filters more frequently might be necessary.

The second repair is annoying and easy to spot. “If you’ve got a leaky faucet or running toilet, that’s going to cost you,” says Reed.

“If you don’t get it fixed you’re going to be paying more and more. It can also lead to mold damage. It can lead to a loss of your cabinetry – the flooring in your cabinetry can be rotted away and that can affect your floor underneath and the walls. So you can have a big issue if it’s not fixed soon,” says Reed.

If there are problems with your home when you begin to show it, buyers will spot them. Reed says, “People who come to your house to check out whether they’re going to buy it or not are looking really closely and they’re listening really closely too.” With plenty of housing inventory on the market, buyers are likely to move on if they feel the house needs a lot of repairs.

“You have to put forth your best impression. These small relatively inexpensive fixes are really important,” says Reed.

Dirty tiles and damaged caulking can send a message to buyers that the house may be in need of even bigger repairs. “You’re first going to have an aesthetic issue and second that’s an indication that you’ve got a problem that could lead to mold and nobody wants mold in their house anywhere at all – it will grow if you don’t have proper seals in your bathroom,” says Reed.

“Those are things that you can see every day – sometimes we get so used to seeing them that we forget about them,” says Reed. However, buyers don’t.

Reed offers this advice, “Pretend you’re going to try to buy your own home; what do you see that you wouldn’t tolerate?” She says it’s worth it to take the steps to fix the problems. Buyers don’t want to fix those problems any more than sellers do. Check for defective outlets. Electrical problems are not only irritating but also can be very hazardous. “An electrical fire can destroy your home,” says Reed.

Who should do the job? Of course, saving money is always key. Reed says some of these repairs might be suitable for a handyman but she cautions homeowners to be sure that the level of the repair matches the expertise of the person you hire. “You’re going to pay more in the end if you don’t check out the person you hire to help you. Make sure that person has a good reputation and if it’s required for him or her to be licensed in your area, you really should [use] a licensed person, even if it’s more expensive,” says Reed.

Reed says, you may pay more but you’ll get the job done right the first time.

Written by Carla Davis

  It is common to assume that paying bills on time automatically means having a high credit score. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. There are many misperceptions about how scores are calculated — and yours could be lower than you might expect.

Credit scores are used by financial institutions to determine whether they should lend money to a potential borrower and, if so, what interest rate should be charged. A higher score means an applicant is statistically less likely to default on the loan so they get a lower interest rate.

Ignoring your credit score could be a costly mistake. As an example, let’s say you bought a $400,000 house with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at a 6-percent interest rate. Over the term of the loan, you would pay interest charges of $463,354. If, however, you had a lower score and your bank bumped your interest rate up to 8 percent, you would pay interest charges of $656,619. That’s a hefty difference of $193,265.

There are many credit scoring systems available to lenders, but FICO scores are by far the most commonly used. The system was developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation back in the 1960s. Technically, you have three different FICO scores — one for each of the three major credit reporting agencies.

Knowing how FICO scores are calculated can help you make better decisions about your credit. At a minimum, you should be aware of some of the most common misperceptions:

I always pay my bills on time so I must have a high credit score.

Paying your bills on time is clearly a critical factor, but it only accounts for 35 percent of your overall FICO score. It also looks at four other components: the amount of debt you owe (30 percent), the length of your credit history (15 percent), the number of credit accounts you’ve recently opened (10 percent), and the types of credit you use (10 percent).

Consolidating multiple credit cards will increase my score.

Consolidating credit cards could make it easier to pay down debt, but your FICO score could actually decrease if you consolidate to fewer accounts with balances that are closer to the maximum available credit. FICO considers you a lower risk if you have multiple credit accounts, keep the payments up-to-date, and maintain balances between 25 percent and 35 percent of the available credit.

I don’t have any credit cards or other major debt so I can’t have a low score.

Your FICO score doesn’t take into account your net worth or your income level — it only looks at your past borrowing history. Your FICO score will be lower if you haven’t established a long-term borrowing history with multiple creditors.

Closing a credit card is better for my score than keeping it open.

Closing a credit card will not necessarily hurt your score in the short term, but you will eventually lose the positive effects of the long-term credit history that you’ve established with that lender.

I shouldn’t shop around for a mortgage or other large loan because credit inquiries hurt my score.

A large number of credit inquiries will lower your score, but FICO is smart enough to know when you are rate shopping. Inquiries for similar types of credit are bundled if they’re made within the same 14-day period.

I shouldn’t check my credit report more than once a year because credit inquiries hurt my score.

Checking your own credit report does not affect your score, so feel free to check it as many times as you’d like.

If you want to learn more about how FICO scores are calculated, visit Fair Isaac’s web site at www.myfico.com. They offer a host of informational materials and credit score tips. And while you’re at it, you can also order your three scores for a small fee.

Becoming more knowledgeable about FICO scores could help you to keep those pesky interest rates at a minimum. With just a small investment of time, you will be able to make smarter credit decisions and take proactive steps to increase your score.

  Despite a slow market and a slight decrease in the resale value of most remodeling projects, Realtors® report that the smartest home improvement investments may also be some of the least expensive. Results from the 2009 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report show that small-scale exterior projects are the most profitable at resale, according to estimates by Realtors who completed a recent survey.

On a national level, eight out of the top 10 projects in terms of costs recouped were exterior replacement projects that cost less than $14,000. Certain types of door and siding replacements, as well as wood deck additions all returned more than 80 percent of project costs upon resale. A steel entry door replacement – a new addition to this year’s list – recouped 128.9 percent of costs, followed by upscale fiber-cement siding replacements at 83.6 percent. Wood deck additions recouped 80.6 percent of costs.

“Once again, this year’s Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report highlights the importance of a home’s first impression,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz. “With exterior projects returning a high percent of project costs upon resale, Realtors can help give your home curb appeal while adding value to the real estate transaction.”

The 2009 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report compares construction costs with resale values for 33 midrange and upscale remodeling projects comprising additions, remodels and replacements in 80 markets across the country. Data are grouped in nine U.S. regions, following the divisions established by the U.S. Census Bureau. This is the 12th consecutive year that the report, which is produced by Hanley Wood, LLC, was completed in cooperation with REALTOR® Magazine, as Realtors® provided their insight into local markets and buyer home preferences within those markets.

On a national level, the project with the biggest improvement from 2008 was the attic bedroom addition, recouping 83.1 percent of remodeling costs compared to 73.8 percent in 2008. The only other interior project that landed in the top 10 was a minor kitchen remodel with 78.3 percent costs recouped.

Other exterior projects in the top 10 include midrange vinyl and upscale foam-backed vinyl siding replacements, which returned more than 79 percent of costs. In addition, several types of window replacements – midrange wood, midrange vinyl, and upscale vinyl – all returned more than 76 percent of costs upon sale.

Similar to last year’s report, the least profitable remodeling projects in terms of resale value were home office remodels and sunroom additions, returning only 48.1 percent and 50.7 percent of project costs.

Written by Realty Times Staff

  As spring approaches, many home owners grow eager to start remodeling projects to update and refresh their surroundings. Before getting started, it’s a good idea to hire a professional remodeler for a workable plan and better results, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).  

“A professional remodeler knows how to translate a home owner’s dreams and budget into a beautiful reality,” said Donna Shirey, CGR, CAPS, CGP, President of Shirey Contracting in Issaquah, Wash. and 2010 chairman of NAHB Remodelers. “They have the expertise and skills to satisfy a customer while keeping the budget in check.”  

Here are five tips for planning a successful home remodel that you can enjoy for many years to come.  

  The following are some questions that will help you decide whether you’re ready for a home that’s larger or in a more desirable location than your current one.

If you answer yes to most of the questions, it’s a sign that you may be ready to move.