It's a challenge to sell a vacant home.  When the home is empty of furniture, the buyers tend to focus on flaws such as carpet wear, nail holes and gaps in the moldings, instead of how the space flows. And this can drive the price down.

"Home owners don't realize how much harder a vacant home is to sell. In today's market, you have to win the beauty contest," says Thomas Scott, VP of Marketing at Showhomes, a home staging company. "Vacant houses simply underperform staged homes and the increased sales price provides an excellent return on what staging costs. Choosing to stage your home should be an easy decision in today's market."

If you have to move out of your house before it sells, use these tips from BankRate.com to help you keep it secure:

Insurance:  Make sure your insurance covers your empty home.  "Both your insurance company and your lender need to know if you move out, particularly because they will want to know you have taken some precautions to protect the property from damage," says Veronica Gonzales, a REALTOR® in Albuquerque. 

Make the home look occupied:  Just like when you leave on vacation, set up a few timer lights and have someone check on the home frequently to make sure the doors are locked and there are no flyers sitting at the front door.  "You can even set an alarm as a deterrent, which works even if you don't have it monitored because the sound will go off whenever a door or window is opened." suggests Gonzales.

If you have window blinds, turn them upward so people can't see in and notice that the property is empty, but it still lets in light for prospective buyers.

Keep up with the yard and have someone inspect the house regularly for any damage, such as frozen pipes.  "Use a programmable thermostat to keep the house relatively cool in summer and warm enough in winter," says Linda Zenker, an agent in Virginia. "Make sure you change the battery before you move out and change the batteries in the smoke detector. A beeping battery signals that the house has been neglected."

"You should also occasionally run the water in the faucets, run the dishwasher and flush the toilets to make sure everything is working and to eliminate sour smells from unused systems." adds Zenker. 

Stage Your Home:  The best way to sell your home is to stage it.  "Without people, even the best home quickly looks and smells vacant. Dust settles, leaves scatter, and stale smell spreads. These cues often shorten the showing time, leading to fewer sales." says an article on Showhomes.com.

"In many locations, organizations such as Showhomes and Homes in Transition place temporary tenants in your home along with their furniture in order to give a home a lived-in look." says the article. "The tenants maintain the home and are required to make it available to buyers and real estate agents at all times. Depending on the company and individual arrangements, hosting a short-term tenant could be free for the homeowner or require a small fee." 

"I recommend Homes In Transition for every vacant listing I get." says REALTOR® Hector Pimentel in Albuquerque.  

A few other staging tips and tricks from real estate agents include:

-Putting up a shower curtain and placing towels in the bathroom.
-A bowl of fake fruit and a wine bottle in the kitchen.
-Setting the table, add a few plants and maybe an outdoor table and chairs.
-Placing an area rug in a large room helps to define the living space.

"I'll sometimes leave a few books or toys in a small bedroom so that the kids can play while the parents look around," says CJ Wright, a REALTOR® in Florida. "I also put a wicker chair with a throw and a book in the family room or sitting room, or movies and a chair in the media room."

Even a few pieces of furniture can sometimes be more appealing than a cluttered home.  Buying a home is an emotional experience, says Showhome.com, "Emotion influences what people buy and how much they will pay. Vacant houses are devoid of life, and the chance to make an emotional connection is lost."

Read more "Tips for Selling a Vacant Home"

Find a Metro Brokers REALTOR® to help you sell your home.

photo credit: Marcus Spaapen

Posted in Seller Resources, Headlines

An inactive credit card can impact your credit score negatively. 

"Credit reporting is very flat, meaning your credit reports only show you a snapshot in time of what your credit history looks like." reports John Ulzheimer on MintLife.com. "There is no chronology of balances, which means it's hard to determine from a credit report if an account is active or inactive."

Credit card companies are in the business to make money, so if you stop using your card for whatever reason and it has a $0 balance and no annual fees, then the credit card company considers you a "loss" while you're inactive.

"Eventually, the issuer is going to throw in the towel and close your account." Says Ulzheimer.  "Here's where the indirect impact to your credit is going to occur. When a credit card issuer closes your account (for whatever reason) you immediately lose the value of the unused credit limit on that card. "

"The impact to your credit is going to vary based on a couple of variables." He says, "If you carry credit card debt on other cards, the impact could be significant. If the credit limit on the newly closed card was very high, the impact could be significant."  If your credit limit was low the impact would be minimal.

What do you do? Do don't want to go out and run up a bunch of debt. Use the card once a month to pay for things you normally buy, such as gasoline, or your internet bill. Then pay off the full amount each month.

"This way you're killing two birds with one stone." writes Ulzheimer. "By using the card, and then paying it off immediately, you're resetting the activity clock and it isn't costing you a penny in interest. The credit card issuer is happy because they're making revenue from the swipe fee, which is being paid by the merchant, not by you."

"Best of all, you protect your credit because the issuer isn't likely to close your account if you use it from time to time, even on modest purchases."

The bottom line is in order to have good credit; you have to use it- responsibly.

Read the full story at MintLife.com.

Wanting to Buy a Home but you have Credit Score Concerns? 

Posted in Technology And You

"It's Time to Buy" say all the local real estate experts.   If you've been waiting for the right opportunity, it's time to get in the game says Stacy Johnson of Money Talks News.

"I've wanted to buy my first home for a while, but when my landlord told me that my rent was going up to $900 a month, I got serious about it." writes Angela Colley on Money Talks News.  "So I researched the estimated value of the house I rent now ($160,000) on my local property appraiser website and figured out what my total monthly payment would be ($817). In other words, I could pay my mortgage, property taxes, and homeowners insurance for $83 less than what I pay in rent each month."

Okay, so you agree it's time to buy now.  How do you begin?  Colley lists the steps to take to buy your first home:

1.       Make Sure You are Ready, says Colley.  This might sound simple but it's always good to look before you leap.

• Is your job secure?
• Are you planning on staying put?
• Is there a situation in your life that makes this a good time to buy or change houses? For instance, new marriage, starting a family.

2.       Know what you can afford.  Ending up "house poor" is how this whole crisis began.,  Be realistic about what you can comfortably afford and stick with your budget.

"Your housing payment - including the mortgage, real estate taxes, and homeowners insurance - shouldn't exceed 28 percent of your monthly gross income. To determine the most you can afford each month, multiply your annual take-home pay by 0.28 and divide that number by 12." says Colley.

3.       Fix Your Credit:  Lenders have tougher requirements than ever.  Your credit score needs to be above 700 to qualify for an FHA loan and higher than that for more conventional loans.

"Order free copies of your credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com, then check out 3 Tips to Raise Your Credit Score - Fast for ideas on boosting your score before you apply for a mortgage. You should check your credit at least 6 months - preferably a year - before home shopping so you'll have time to improve it before applying for a loan." writes Colley.

4.       Down Payment:  Most lenders require 20 percent down.  "The bigger the down payment, the better." Advises Colley, especially in today's tough competitive market.  In a recent market analysis, research shows that the best loan rates came with an average down payment of 28 percent, according to USA Today.

5.       Get Pre-Approved:  Once you have checked (and fixed) your credit score and you have the money for a down payment, apply for a mortgage.  Getting pre-approved for the mortgage before looking for a home means that you can make an offer quickly and it might mean getting accepted over other bids. 

6.       Build a Good Team, says Colley.  Find a great REALTOR® who is familiar with the areas you are interested in and find a good lender.

7.       Know your local real estate market: Make sure you and your REALTOR® are familiar with everything that is going on in your local housing market.

Read:  Tips for First Time Home Buyers

Posted in Marketing, Ownership, Real Estate Market Conditions

The competition is getting tough out there.  Home buyers in Colorado are finding that they aren't the only ones getting back into the housing market today. Properties are receiving numerous bids at a time. "You need to go in with the highest and best offer and don't ask for anything you absolutely don't need." writes broker Chris Ann Cleveland of Virginia.  "Show you're serious with a good sized earnest money deposit and, finally, write a personal note."

REALTORS® are suggesting that their clients include a personal note with their bids to help get them noticed.  "It never hurts to put a bit of emotion into the offer with a personal note." Cleland advises. "It isn't going to replace great contract terms, but if all things are relatively equal, it may very well put your offer over the edge if you find yourself competing for a home."

Your REALTOR® has the expertise to help you make an offer that will get noticed!

Read more of "The Advantage of a Personal Note to Accompany your Offer"

Posted in Buyer Resources, Real Estate Trends

Ken Hutchison of Metro Brokers Tall Country Realty specializes in residential mountain homes in the foothills of Denver.

Interviewer:  Hi I am Kathy Soltero from Metro Brokers TV.  Today we have in the studio with us Ken Hutchison.  He is the broker owner of Tall Country Realty in Conifer.  Thank you so much for coming in today. 

Ken:  Thank you. 

Interviewer:  Tell me about where is Conifer? 

Ken:  Well Conifer is southwest of Denver about 25 miles from Downtown and about 25 miles from the Denver Tech Center. 

Interviewer:  So... mountain country? 

Ken:  Very much, in the foothills, about 8000 feet, with very beautiful vistas and views and everything. 

Interviewer:  All right.  How long have you been in the real estate business? 

Ken:  Well I started the business in 1971. 

Interviewer:  Wow, so you have seen a lot. 

Ken:  I have yes,

Interviewer:  Tell us about your experience, tell us a little bit about what you do and what you specialize in? 

Ken:  Well I do residential real estate and I have built houses, mainly for first time home buyers.  And I really have specialized in that because I really enjoy dealing with first time home buyers. 

Interviewer:  It's quite a different market these days isn't it? 

Ken:  Oh, yes completely different. 

Interviewer:  Tell us about some of the things that you are seeing that so different in the areas that you are working in? 

Ken:  Well, I work in the Evergreen, Conifer, Bailey, and Pine areas. You have got to cover a large area because there aren't very many people up there.  So, you deal with quite a few different aspects of real estate. 

Interviewer:  And are you doing bank owned properties as well, short sales, you are still seeing a lot of that up there in the mountain area? 

Ken:  Yes we are seeing that, that's mainly the main business that we are in right now. 

Interviewer:  Okay.  Have you seen it kind of like trickle off a little bit or? 

Ken:  Yes, we are having a shortage of homes that are on the market right now.  You don't get to pick and choose like you used to. 

Interviewer:  Right.  Tell me about mountain real estate versus the neighborhood real estate that we are used to here down in the Denver Metro area.  How is that different? 

Ken:  Well mountain real estate is different because you have wells and septics and you need somebody that understands what is a good well production?  And septics you have got to have an inspection before you can even purchase a house in Jefferson County anymore.  And then the other thing that you always got to look for in the mountains is you want a house that gets good sun and good driveways.  And those things will save you immense amount of money in utility bills. 

Interviewer:  How do you know that when you are up there and you are looking around because you are kind of surrounded by all these mountains? 

Ken:  Well you can tell... you've got to look for the sun!

Interviewer:  Yeah, and the snow, right? 

Ken:  And the snow if there is snow on the ground and you look over to the left or right and there is no snow you think well I would rather be over where the sun is.  You bet. 

Interviewer:  Exactly, all right.  Well Ken, how can people reach you? 

Ken:  You can reach me at 303-838-1661.  I am located at 2627 Conifer Road in Aspen Park. 

Interviewer:  Okay and do you have a website as well or...? 

Ken:  Yes the website is TallCountryRealty.net. 

Interviewer:  Ken thank you very much for coming in and talking with us today and telling us a little bit about your real estate. 

Ken:  Thank you. 

Interviewer:  Good luck to you. 

Ken:  You bet. 

Interviewer:  And for more real estate related videos like this one.  Be sure to tune in to metrobrokerstv.com. 

Posted in Marketing, Buyer Resources, Story Request, Real Estate Market Conditions