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Posts Tagged ‘Selling Your Home Columbia Missouri’

Holiday Season is here!

Can’t wait for the holiday season to arrive?  We have come apps for your smartphone that will help you keep your holiday shopping under control, find the best deals, read a holiday classic to your child, etc.  Check them out!

Country Living Holiday Cookies App

For iPhone users:  Santa Watch, Kwanzaa Puzzles, TGI Black Friday, Country Living Holiday Cookies, Hanukkah Gift List, Christmas Radio, Flightview

For Android users:  Santa Watch, TGI Black Friday, Christmas List Pro, Country Living Holiday Cookies, Christmas Radio, Dreidel, Flightview

For Blackberry users: Santa Watch, Christmas Song Lyrics, Flightview

If you would like to contact a Prudential Real Estate agent today, please call 573.449.6200 or email Info@PrudentialVision.com.  Prudential Vision Properties is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Dan Bingenheimer, Realtor

Home sellers face a new reality as they look to move up, down, in or out of their American dream in today’s market. Consumers, particularly those who purchased their homes within the last five years, often find their options limited by a lack of equity. Those who can sell are sometimes numbed by deflated home prices and find it difficult to justify yesterday’s valuations with today’s reality.

Many home sellers have dug in on price hoping to lose no additional ground. Others seem to have taken this market personally, letting emotions override analysis when setting price. Buyer sentiment has shifted as well, centered on maximum value with abundant amenities – resulting in stalemates and homes languishing on the market.  Both sides should be realistic as comparable sales and local-market dynamics still determine fair-market value.

And there are compelling reasons to be realistic and make a move now. Sellers, assuming their objective is to buy another home, can capitalize on some of the lowest mortgage interest rates on record and an inventory of homes at attractive prices. So while they will sell for less, they will also buy for less and with significantly cheaper borrowing costs.

Of course, professional sales representation is essential this transitioning market or any other. The Prudential Real Estate Network, recently recognized for “Highest Overall Satisfaction for Home Sellers Among National Full Service Real Estate Firms” in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2010 Home Buyer/Seller Study^SM, is composed of true, local-market experts whose experience, analysis and consultation generate results in all market conditions.

As the local experts, they’ll help set fair-market prices using factual reference points, such as an appraisal, comparables sales and personal knowledge to help estimate market value. Today, a house priced at or slightly below market value will attract the interest of real estate professionals and buyers, while overpricing chases them away. Even if the sellers adjust their prices later, it’s difficult to recapture buyer interest.

Sales professionals develop comprehensive marketing strategies to sell a home. They generally use open houses, yard signs, Internet exposure, MLS, newspaper ads, brochures and other means to market properties.

Beyond that, they counsel sellers on other conditions that may keep sellers’ homes on the market, including:

• Condition and appearance. Sellers shouldn’t rely on buyers to use their imagination; they need to capture it. Remember that buyers may see seven or eight homes in a single day. The most memorable home will be the one that seemed the brightest, the most spacious, and the most cheerful. This invariably means rearranging and eliminating furniture, removing excess knickknacks and so on, to create an open, uncluttered look. Outside, do a visual check of the front of the house from across the street. Does it have curb appeal? It should look inviting, with a trimmed lawn and a freshly painted front door. A real estate professional can offer some guidance in this area.
• Terms/conditions. Even if the home is accurately priced, and the buyer is delighted with what he or she sees, if the buyer can’t live with the terms of the sale, he or she may walk away. Keep an open mind on terms and conditions and evaluate how they may affect a potential sale.
• Incentives. Offering incentives can be just the impetus a potential buyer needs a buyer needs to choose your property over others. Consider offering a carpet or paint allowance. If the buyer knows up front there is allowance for the worn carpet or paint, then may overlook those cosmetic flaws. You could pay for a professional home inspection or a home warranty, or pay closing costs.

Indeed, real estate opportunities abound for sellers and buyers who can come to terms with today’s market conditions. A qualified real estate professional will help you navigate the market, protect your interests and keep you moving toward your housing dreams.

Dan Bingenheimer can be reached at 573.424.4112. Prudential Vision Properties is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

10 Tips for Those Who Have Decided to Buy

by PJ Wade

Wanting to buy a home and deciding to buy a home are two different things. The first is a desire or a dream. The second is commitment to achieve the goal. Do you want to buy, or have you decided to buy?

If you are ready to commit to success, you are determined to replace wanting to buy with deciding to buy. Here are 10 tips to help you on the path to real estate ownership.

1. Decide who will facilitate your buy: The professional team you put together can make all the difference.  Concentrate on credentials and experience. The knowledge and ability to strategize on your behalf does matter.

When to Buy Your Home

2. Decide when you will buy: Buying a home or investment property is not something to rush into, but taking a long time does not necessarily make your choice a better one. To facilitate a sound buying decision, project ahead three months at a time to see what external factors in your life and career might disrupt buying momentum, or add additional advantages to the timing

3. Decide where you will buy: Location is still the key factor in sustainable value and rate of appreciation over time. The best returns come from buying the best location you can afford. You can renovate or rebuild the structure or unit, but you cannot move the land or condominium complex. Location matters.

4. Decide which you will buy: It’s not how many properties you view that will ensure success, but whether you see the property that best suits your needs, wants, and decision making.

5. Decide what you will buy: Stay on point and avoid getting carried away. Does proximity to schools or public transportation matter? What will your home-based business require? Will an income-suite enable you to buy an even better location? Write your must-have list down and check it when you view properties and before you make an offer.

6. Decide what value you can add:Concentrate on improvements that increase functionality, affordability, comfort, and resale, not just changes in decor.

What to Pay For Your Home

7. Decide what buying will cost: Set a budget for the entire project, not just the mortgage. Your real estate professional can help prepare a full financial projection of costs.

8. Decide how you measure success: If you don’t track time and the properties you’ve seen, you may become overwhelmed with detail and confused by the continually changing real estate market. Focus is the key. Organization will ensure your success.

9. Decide what’s unique to your situation: What considerations or challenges must you take into account that may not be true for all buyers? Do you have a property to sell before you can buy? Do you have special mobility needs, or design features like higher ceilings or a detached garage that are important to your hobbies or business? Share this information with your real estate professional at the start, so they have the full picture of your needs.

10. Decide- What’s the point of buying?: This decision must come first and stay first as you go. There are many great reasons for buying real estate, but what are yours? When your point or purpose in buying is crystal clear, you can weigh the relative merits of the properties you view, and the many small decisions that must be made on the way to the first big step: Have you decided to make an offer?

Published: August 9, 2011

The City of Columbia Wants to Hear From YOU!

We are in the midst of conducting a community food assessment as part of a collaboration with Unite 4 Healthy Neighborhoods. The Robert Wood Johnson grant is managed by the PedNet Coalition, with additional partners:  Health Dept., Boone County Healthy Lifestyle Initiative, Extension Services, several MU departments, and the Columbia Public Schools.

We want everyone’s voice to be heard!  

The purpose is to gain a better understanding of how consumers make decisions about what food they buy and where they buy it. Many of us make assumptions about food shopping behaviors.  This survey will provide us with the data we need to accurately show how people in this community make these decisions.  Specifically, we are concerned with whether people who live in different neighborhoods, who likely have different incomes, have different factors affecting what they purchase and where they purchase food.

People have the opportunity to enter their name (which is kept separate from their survey!!) into a drawing to win football tickets and $20 gift cards at local restaurants and grocery stores.  The surveys only take 10 minutes!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ColumbiaFood1

If you would like to contact a Prudential Real Estate agent today, please call 573.449.6200 or email Info@PrudentialVision.com.  Prudential Vision Properties is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential company. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Have you ever thought, “Gee what can I do with these pizza boxes instead of throwing them away” following eating more than your fair share of pizza?  No?  Well someone else did, and this is what they came up with.  Wall Art!  This is a great way to take your home from boring to BANG when selling your home.

You will need:

Pizza boxes – small, medium or large
Wallpaper, wrapping paper or fabric
Bostik spray adhesive
Ruler
Craft or utility knife
Scissors
Double-sided tape to mount onto wall

Here’s how:

1. For my project I used some left over Fired Earth wallpaper that I had. It’s vinyl wallpaper – nice and thick – and perfect for this type of project. But you could also use wrapping paper or fabric.

2. Cut a sheet of paper so that it is bigger than the box and will fold nicely over the sides.

3. Spray the back of the paper and the front and sides of the box with Bostik spray adhesive and leave for five minutes.

4. Place the front of the box on the paper, making sure to position in the center, and press down.

5. Use scissors to cut all four corners diagonally.

6. Fold over two opposite side. Don’t fold all the sides over just yet as you need to create nice, neat corners.

7. Fold the edges/corners of the sides that you have just folded over onto the other sides – as shown left.

8. On the other two corners, trim the edges straight and then spray adhesive onto the corners that you have just folded over. Wait for five minutes.

9. Now fold the other sides onto the edges.

10. Use a craft knife to cut away any excess at the back.

And…….. The Finished Products

If you would like to contact a Prudential Real Estate agent today, please call 573.449.6200 or email Info@PrudentialVision.com.  Prudential Vision Properties is an independently owned and operated member of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential company. Equal Housing Opportunity.