So you have purchased a single-family house that needs work and you’re all set to rehab it so that you can resell it. You have just one little question: “Where do I begin?! I don’t know how to rehab a house!” When you first took on this project, the idea of rehabbing a single family home didn’t seem like that much work. But now that it’s yours, it looks like there are a million things to do. First things first... rehabbing is just like anything else: you need a plan. Let’s make ours!If you are new to the rehabbing business, you need to make sure you’ve purchased the right kind of house—in this case, a property that needs cosmetic rehabs. That means you want to stay away from houses that have structural issues with the foundation or floors; fire damage; dry rot or termite damage; and the like. The same goes for systems: electrical, plumbing, and heating. These can be complicated and costly. For the newbie, there is no sense biting off more than you can chew. Although properties with such defects can often be purchased at a better price, the estimate and cost—not to mention the experience necessary—to make such repairs can quickly eat up the novice investor’s profit margin. And then there’s the stress! So let’s keep it easy.
Now, after you have a good home that needs cosmetic improvements, where should you begin? Here’s our plan for rehabbing single-family homes: 1. Start with the outside: You’ll want to make the property presentable from the street. This includes the major details, like picking up any junk or trash, clipping back overgrown shrubs or trees, and generally making the house pleasantly visible from the street. Save the small details, like planting flowers, for later. For now, just get it cleaned up!2. Evaluate the interior work that is needed: You are going to be concerned with the three primary regions of the house, including the kitchen, baths, and living areas. Depending on the amount of work each needs, the kitchen and baths will be the most expensive rooms to fix. They will often also be the major selling points of the house. Determine what you want or need to do to each, and create a budget. Stick to it. 3. Clean it out: Like you did with the outside of the house, make sure you get rid of everything inside before you start working. It’s much easier to get things done when you don’t have to work around leftover boxes, furniture, or piles of garbage!
4. Make sure you or whomever you hire to do the interior rehab does a quality job. Don’t overlook the details, such as replacing ALL the outlet covers and switch plates, and carefully masking any trim as you paint. Trust us: If you gloss over the little things, buyers will notice.
5.Add the finishing touches and start marketing your house for sale. Actually, you can start the marketing process sooner—oftentimes even while you are still working on the interior rehab (it’s one of the reasons we cleaned the outside first). Then pay attention to the little things like planting flowers outside and replacing the house numbers (curb appeal). Think: “Would I want to buy this house?”6. Whether you decide to market it yourself or enlist the help of a Realtor, make sure you have priced the house correctly based on recent comparable sales. Starting with too high of an asking price can cause a house to languish on the market. Too low and you won’t maximize your profit. And that’s really it. Once you’ve sold the house, you’re ready to begin again. Have fun!
Showing posts with label Sonoma County homes for sale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sonoma County homes for sale. Show all posts
Friday, November 18, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Wall Street volatility and economic issues weigh on housing market
It has certainly been a rough August for the financial markets, and we still have more than a week to go! Wall Street has taken us on a wild rollercoaster ride with volatility spiking to its highest level since the end of the recession. One day the Dow’s down 400 points, the next its up 400, then down again. Much of the turmoil is due to worries about the U.S. economy and whether we’re headed for a double-dip recession, as well as the political infighting in Washington over the debt ceiling, and the European sovereign debt concerns.
The troubled economic backdrop has many people wondering if this is 2008 all over again. And more specifically, what impact will all of this have on the nation’s housing market, and our local markets here in the Bay Area?
Without glossing over our current economic challenges, I strongly believe that we are in a very different place today than we were three years ago. At the depth of the recession we had a liquidity crisis. Today, banks aren't lending as much as we'd like, but their balance sheets are strong with enormous cash reserves. Top 500 corporate earnings continue to be very strong, and capital investment is increasing. Although GDP growth rates are lukewarm, we've nonetheless had eight straight quarters of economic growth.
Nationwide, foreclosures have declined for a 10th month in a row. We have not seen the end of the foreclosure pipeline, but these declines are still a good signal to the public. There is no doubt that structural issues remain in our economy. But they are not fundamentally different from two weeks ago, before the S&P downgrade of U.S. debt. As such, there's little justification for the current reaction other than issues of confidence and perception.
Real estate has always been a very local business. And while the national headlines may frighten us, it’s important to remember that the Bay Area has consistently had a stronger economic base and thus a more resilient housing market than most other parts of the country. That’s especially true with Silicon Valley, the Peninsula, and San Francisco.
Why is it that the Bay Area seems to fare better than many parts of the U.S. when economic turmoil strikes? One reason, of course, is the rapid growth of new Silicon Valley companies, and along with them, high-paying jobs. Another is the booming social media sector, which is also being led by Bay Area firms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn). We’re also the center of the rapidly expanding biotech field and the burgeoning “green” technology industry.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, seven of the nine Bay Area counties saw year over year employment growth. Additionally, the jobs being created tend to be much higher-paying positions than elsewhere in the U.S. Santa Clara County recorded the highest average weekly wage in the state, as well as the nation, at $1943, more than twice the national average, followed by San Francisco ($1573) and San Mateo ($1564).
A couple of recent reports by the Bay Area Council underscore why our local region really is at the forefront of job creation.
According to a report released by the Brookings Institution, in partnership with the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area now leads the nation in clean tech jobs, with 11 percent of all US clean tech jobs located in the region. The Bay Area exports more than $1 billion in clean tech products, including building control systems and electric vehicles.
What does this translate into as far as hiring? The Bay Area now supports 70,679 clean tech jobs (51,811 in San Francisco and 18,686 in San Jose). In San Jose, the largest segment is wind energy with 3,000 jobs, and the fastest growing segments were Fuel Cells, where employment grew 24.7 percent in the past seven years, and Wind Energy, where employment grew 17 percent. In the San Francisco-Oakland area, the largest employment is Professional Energy Services with 7,532 jobs.
Likely due to the passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act, and various tax credits and incentives, between 2003 and 2010, clean tech jobs grew by an average annual rate of 5.4 percent in San Francisco and 12.6 percent in San Jose, far outpacing the 4.2% pace of job creation for jobs nationally.
The growth of the clean tech sector in the Bay Area is one more reason why local hiring is one the rise, according to another study by the Bay Area Council. In spite of the economic headwinds at the national level, small and medium Bay Area businesses are still looking to hire over the next six months, researchers found. The business confidence index – the number that distills the survey findings – registered at 62. A reading over 50 signals positive economic times, while below 50 is negative.
“Despite all the national talk about a dreaded double-dip recession, the Bay Area seems to be weathering the recovery much better than other regions,” said Jim Wunderman, President & CEO of the Bay Area Council. While acknowledging the economic concerns, Wunderman said, “Confidence amongst business leaders continues to slowly build.”
All of this is not to sugarcoat our current economic problems. We’re certainly not out of the woods yet and we have a ways to go before we see a full housing market recovery. But we are making progress, even if it’s not at the pace we’d all like to see. And given our region’s track record of economic growth and leading the way in the creation of jobs for the future, I’m confident we’ll continue to see better days ahead.
Rick Turley
President, Coldwell Banker
The troubled economic backdrop has many people wondering if this is 2008 all over again. And more specifically, what impact will all of this have on the nation’s housing market, and our local markets here in the Bay Area?
Without glossing over our current economic challenges, I strongly believe that we are in a very different place today than we were three years ago. At the depth of the recession we had a liquidity crisis. Today, banks aren't lending as much as we'd like, but their balance sheets are strong with enormous cash reserves. Top 500 corporate earnings continue to be very strong, and capital investment is increasing. Although GDP growth rates are lukewarm, we've nonetheless had eight straight quarters of economic growth.
Nationwide, foreclosures have declined for a 10th month in a row. We have not seen the end of the foreclosure pipeline, but these declines are still a good signal to the public. There is no doubt that structural issues remain in our economy. But they are not fundamentally different from two weeks ago, before the S&P downgrade of U.S. debt. As such, there's little justification for the current reaction other than issues of confidence and perception.
Real estate has always been a very local business. And while the national headlines may frighten us, it’s important to remember that the Bay Area has consistently had a stronger economic base and thus a more resilient housing market than most other parts of the country. That’s especially true with Silicon Valley, the Peninsula, and San Francisco.
Why is it that the Bay Area seems to fare better than many parts of the U.S. when economic turmoil strikes? One reason, of course, is the rapid growth of new Silicon Valley companies, and along with them, high-paying jobs. Another is the booming social media sector, which is also being led by Bay Area firms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn). We’re also the center of the rapidly expanding biotech field and the burgeoning “green” technology industry.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, seven of the nine Bay Area counties saw year over year employment growth. Additionally, the jobs being created tend to be much higher-paying positions than elsewhere in the U.S. Santa Clara County recorded the highest average weekly wage in the state, as well as the nation, at $1943, more than twice the national average, followed by San Francisco ($1573) and San Mateo ($1564).
A couple of recent reports by the Bay Area Council underscore why our local region really is at the forefront of job creation.
According to a report released by the Brookings Institution, in partnership with the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area now leads the nation in clean tech jobs, with 11 percent of all US clean tech jobs located in the region. The Bay Area exports more than $1 billion in clean tech products, including building control systems and electric vehicles.
What does this translate into as far as hiring? The Bay Area now supports 70,679 clean tech jobs (51,811 in San Francisco and 18,686 in San Jose). In San Jose, the largest segment is wind energy with 3,000 jobs, and the fastest growing segments were Fuel Cells, where employment grew 24.7 percent in the past seven years, and Wind Energy, where employment grew 17 percent. In the San Francisco-Oakland area, the largest employment is Professional Energy Services with 7,532 jobs.
Likely due to the passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act, and various tax credits and incentives, between 2003 and 2010, clean tech jobs grew by an average annual rate of 5.4 percent in San Francisco and 12.6 percent in San Jose, far outpacing the 4.2% pace of job creation for jobs nationally.
The growth of the clean tech sector in the Bay Area is one more reason why local hiring is one the rise, according to another study by the Bay Area Council. In spite of the economic headwinds at the national level, small and medium Bay Area businesses are still looking to hire over the next six months, researchers found. The business confidence index – the number that distills the survey findings – registered at 62. A reading over 50 signals positive economic times, while below 50 is negative.
“Despite all the national talk about a dreaded double-dip recession, the Bay Area seems to be weathering the recovery much better than other regions,” said Jim Wunderman, President & CEO of the Bay Area Council. While acknowledging the economic concerns, Wunderman said, “Confidence amongst business leaders continues to slowly build.”
All of this is not to sugarcoat our current economic problems. We’re certainly not out of the woods yet and we have a ways to go before we see a full housing market recovery. But we are making progress, even if it’s not at the pace we’d all like to see. And given our region’s track record of economic growth and leading the way in the creation of jobs for the future, I’m confident we’ll continue to see better days ahead.
Rick Turley
President, Coldwell Banker
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Realtors Encouraged by Signs that Economic Recovery
With the holidays behind us and a brand new year underway, Realtors, home sellers and buyers are all wondering what 2011 will bring to the Bay Area housing market. After a choppy 2010 that saw strong activity early in the year and a softening in the second half, Realtors are encouraged that recent improvement in the economy could bode well for the housing market.
The real estate market is so closely aligned with the fate of the overall economy, the stock market and consumer confidence. In general, all three of those economic indicators have been recovering in recent weeks. And this week in particular gave housing market professionals reason for encouragement.
In his first appearance before the new Congress, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a more upbeat assessment of the economy than he has in the past. "We have seen increased evidence that a self-sustaining recovery in consumer and business spending may be taking hold," the central bank chief told lawmakers.
Bernanke and another senior Fed official, New York Fed President William Dudley, said today that leading indicators for the labor market are pointing to a likely pickup in the pace of employment gains over the course of the year.
At the same time, the financial markets have rallied in recent months. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ have risen 10% and 12%, respectively, over the past three months. Many Silicon Valley companies continue to report strong sales and profits over the past year. All of this undoubtedly is having a positive impact on consumer confidence.
Finally, this past year’s holiday season provided some welcome news for retailers. U.S. retailers posted the strongest revenue growth since 2006. A Thomson-Reuters index of 28 leading retailers showed sales rose 3.1% at stores open less than a year.
But in all likelihood, the road to recovery will continue to be slow and occasionally bumpy. Don’t be surprised to see extremely upbeat economic numbers one month and a small setback the next.
For example, the Labor Department reported that the nation's economy added 103,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate dropped to 9.4% last month, its lowest level in 19 months. But the job growth fell short of expectations based on a strengthening economy. And the drop in unemployment was partially due to people dropping out of the labor force.
Nonetheless, despite two steps forward and one back, the overall economy appears to be trending upward. I’m cautiously optimistic the same will be true for our housing market in 2011.
http://www.cloneyrealestate.com
The real estate market is so closely aligned with the fate of the overall economy, the stock market and consumer confidence. In general, all three of those economic indicators have been recovering in recent weeks. And this week in particular gave housing market professionals reason for encouragement.
In his first appearance before the new Congress, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a more upbeat assessment of the economy than he has in the past. "We have seen increased evidence that a self-sustaining recovery in consumer and business spending may be taking hold," the central bank chief told lawmakers.
Bernanke and another senior Fed official, New York Fed President William Dudley, said today that leading indicators for the labor market are pointing to a likely pickup in the pace of employment gains over the course of the year.
At the same time, the financial markets have rallied in recent months. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ have risen 10% and 12%, respectively, over the past three months. Many Silicon Valley companies continue to report strong sales and profits over the past year. All of this undoubtedly is having a positive impact on consumer confidence.
Finally, this past year’s holiday season provided some welcome news for retailers. U.S. retailers posted the strongest revenue growth since 2006. A Thomson-Reuters index of 28 leading retailers showed sales rose 3.1% at stores open less than a year.
But in all likelihood, the road to recovery will continue to be slow and occasionally bumpy. Don’t be surprised to see extremely upbeat economic numbers one month and a small setback the next.
For example, the Labor Department reported that the nation's economy added 103,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate dropped to 9.4% last month, its lowest level in 19 months. But the job growth fell short of expectations based on a strengthening economy. And the drop in unemployment was partially due to people dropping out of the labor force.
Nonetheless, despite two steps forward and one back, the overall economy appears to be trending upward. I’m cautiously optimistic the same will be true for our housing market in 2011.
http://www.cloneyrealestate.com
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