Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

We’ve all heard it’s a buyers market, so your are competing with the other homeowners’s attempting to sell there homes in this market.  Your home needs all the appeal to get those potential buyers in there!  Unless your house is silver and shiny, you may want to shine it up a bit with these simple ideas can help show your home at it’s best.

Have your home pre-inspected.

When an offer is made, a home inspection must be performed. Reeling in a buyer, only to lose them to unseen problems with the house is one of the worst things that can happen.  Have your home pre-inspected to uncover any unknown issues.  Prices vary for home inspections ($250 – $500) and an agent here at Distinctive Properties can recommend a professional for you.

Check warranties and get estimates.

If the inspection turns up anything, get estimates for any repairs.  If they are affordable, repair them.  Check warranties on some items, such as furnace, dishwasher, and other real property that stays with the home.  

Make minor repairs.

Not every repair will cost you a lot.  Repair torn screens, squeaky doors, running toilets, etc.  Replace any rotten trim or other small items to increase the look of care to the home.

De Clutter.

Clutter can make the storage in the home seem small.  while you see years of perfectly fine living, other see a house that can’t hold it all.   Clear off the kitchen counters of just about everything.

Clean out closets.  Pack up lightly used items like summer clothes and camping equipment and toys.  You may want to invest in a small storage unit.  A small price to pay for curb appeal.    Store away any bulky furnishing and keep the home simple and basic.  Remember, people are looking at the home and want to picture their belongings in it.  That may be difficult with all the spaces cluttered up.  You basically want to ”depersonalize” your home by removing pictures and knick-knacks.  

Let the buyer see a blank canvas.  

Clean!

You’ve heard about first impressions and how important they are.   A buyer walks into a super clean home is left with the impression that the home is well cared for.   So clean the windows, air out the house to eliminate any natural odors from food, pets, etc.  Have carpets shampooed or steam cleaned and dust off blinds, and launder drapery. 

We hope these tips are helpful.  Visit us on our website at www.distinctiveprop.com for more information. 

each week, Distinctive Properties compiles data and post the results on it’s website and this blog.  Here is out stats for 1-09-2012; http://www.distinctiveprop.com/files/files/01.09.2012RealEstateStats.pdf

There is 2.8 acres of commercial real estate for sale by the city of Kennewick!  This land is located in a prime-future growth area on Highway 395 next to the September 11th memorial site.    A multi million dollar hospital is planned just west of this site. 

There are several developers interested in the  land and they must compete for that right.  Bids must be submitted by January 31st 2012.  the city will pick the bidder who’s proposal best suits the the use of the property. 

What would you like to see in this area that best suits the community needs and future direction?

In addition, there will be 1742+ acres in 7 parcels up for auction on January 17 @ 7pm in Benton County.  For more information on this sale, visit www.mbauction.com

Homes have never been more affordable than they are right now.   Lower interest rates coupled with declining home prices put buyers at an ideal advantage.  Now may be the best time to consider a home purchase.  Consumer Confidence appears to be on the rise as reflected in an increase in fourth quarter homes sales for 2011.

According to the Eighth Annual Farmers Insurance Group study, the Tri Cities is ranked the No. 1 most-secure place to live in the United States among mid-sized cities.  Factors considered in the study were extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, foreclosures, air quality, environment hazards, terrorist threats, life expectancy and job loss numbers.  The study included 127 U.S. metropolitan areas with populations between 150,000 and 500,000.  This marks the 2nd time the Tri Cities has captured this position; it was also No. 1 in 2005 and has appeared in the top 20 six times.  Other Washington State cities included were Olympia at No. 4, Bellingham at No. 7, Bremerton-Silverdale at No. 13, Yakima No. 14 and Spokane at No. 20.

In your annual home maintenance routine.  Over time creosote accumulates in your chimney which can cause chimney fires, which in turn causes cracking in the structure.  This can potentially allow dangerous carbon monoxide fumes into your home.  Make a chimney inspection part of your annual home maintenance program and you’ll have peace of mind that you did.