Iowa’s Real Estate with RE/MAX Show – November 21

Tax Credit Expanded & Home Staging – November 7, 2009

Use Disassociation to Help Stage your Home

Use Disassociation to Help Stage your Home in Des Moines, by Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts

The more you can become disassociated from your Des Moines home the better able you will be to view your home as a prospective buyer will.

The first time you try disassociating from your Des Moines home you will be amazed at what you truly see. You will view your home through the eyes of the buyer and see many faults that were previously hidden from your view. Small stains, cracks and other little faults will rear their ugly heads during your assessment. At this point you will be in a position where you can handle them, or at least make them less noticeable to the many Des Moines viewers that may want your home.

You will also be able to see any clutter that may be lying around undetected. You may see that the basket of papers you have on your front ledge really isn’t as neat as you thought it was, and you will be able to either make it disappear or at least straighten it up a bit more. Small amounts of clutter add up as the buyer’s walk through your Des Moines home, and it can definitely be a turnoff for most people.

When you disassociate yourself from your home you must do it on the exterior as well as the interior. You will notice any problems with lawn care, gardens or the exterior of the Des Moines house itself. It is important to look at the exterior as a potential buyer would, because this is the first impression he will be getting of your home in Des Moines when he comes to view it.

By becoming disassociated with your home you will be better able to stage it for future viewings. It is a fun exercise and you will enjoy looking at your Des Moines home in a completely new light.

For everything Des Moines real estate visit us at Real Estate with RE/MAX. Please feel free to contact us with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and we will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call us at 1-800-708-5890 or email us at dsm@realestateconcepts.net.

Understanding Floor Plans and Traffic Flow When House Hunting

Understanding Floor Plans and Traffic Flow When House Hunting, by Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts

A well designed floor plan can sell a house according to recent trends in the Des Moines area.  Buyers have a lot of options in todays market, and want to get the most for their money.  A perceptive buyer will scrutinize each potential house for items such as traffic patterns and overall flow of the floor design.  He or she will imagine living in the house as they walk through and make note of how well the floor plan fits their personal lifestyle.

Buyers take notice of a home’s functionality from the moment they arrive at each property.  Imagine walking into the home.  How will you enter?  Will you enter the house through the front door, side door, or perhaps the garage?  What are your current habits upon entry?  If you are accustomed to placing your keys, purse, briefcase, or shoes down as soon as you enter the home, is there a place for this ritual in this house?

A tip to buyers is to imagine bringing packages or groceries into the home.  Notice where you would park and what is the distance to the kitchen.  Are there steps?  Is there enough counter space to place the packages down near the cabinets and refrigerator?

There are no right or wrong answers.  Floor plans and traffic patterns differ because homeowners differ.  Find a floor plan that fits with your lifestyle.

Buyers with children may want to pay special attention to the layout of the bedrooms, hallways, closets, and bathrooms.  Noise can be a big issue with growing families.  A floor plan that places hallways, linen closets, and bathrooms between bedrooms creates a great noise buffer zone.

Finally, take note of where the living room fits into the floor plan.  Are there rooms on either side, or is it at the end of the house?  The answer can make the difference between the living room becoming an active pass-through, or a a quiet relaxing retreat.

A great floor plan has a traffic pattern and flow that meets the needs and lifestyle of the homeowner.

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Des Moines real estate. For complete information about the Des Moines real estate market including current homes for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website on line dedicated to everything Des Moines real estate at Real Estate with RE/MAX. Please feel free to contact us with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and we will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call us at 1-800-708-5890 or email us at dsm@realestateconcepts.net.

Tips to Help Sell a Vacant Home

Tips to Help Sell a Vacant Home in Des Moines, by Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts

Vacant homes in Des Moines can be subjected to damage quite easily while they are up for sale, which can end up costing you a lot of money. Here are a couple of things you should put into practice when you have to leave your Des Moines home vacant for a period of time.

1. Have it checked often

The worst thing that could possibly happen when you are selling your vacant Des Moines home is to have it vandalized or broken into. To avoid this, you need to hire someone to check the house frequently. This person, or property management company in Des Moines should check all the door locks and windows to ensure that the house is secure.

They should also gather any mail or fliers that may accumulate, and take a walk through the home to make sure everything is in the same condition as it was left in. It is also advisable to get the person or company in Des Moines to leave on different lights each time they visit so that the house appears lived in.

2.Have someone ready in case of repairs

In case of any damage done to your vacant home in Des Moines you should have someone on standby to do some simple repair work. If you already have a handyman, let him know the situation and have him ready to be called in case of an emergency. You may need to find one if you don’t know a reliable Des Moines contractor, and you can ask friends or relatives of one they use and trust. Remember to make certain that they will be available in case of an emergency and are willing to fit you in during projects. A damaged house will lose money, and in many cases will not sell.

Use these points as a guide when you must leave your Des Moines home vacant while it is on the market. You want your home to sell quickly, and the best way to make this happen is to make sure that your Des Moines house stays intact.

For everything Des Moines real estate visit us at Real Estate with RE/MAX. Please feel free to contact us with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and we will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call us at 1-800-708-5890 or email us at dsm@realestateconcepts.net.

Three Tips to Help you Sell your Home Fast

Three Tips to Help you Sell your Des Moines Home Fast, by Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts

There are a lot of things you must keep in mind when you are selling your Des Moines home. Sometimes it seems rather overwhelming. Here are a few valuable tips you can use to help you sell your home in Des Moines faster and make the most profit on it as well.

#1 – Keep it clean and tidy. This is so important that it must be said again. Keep it clean and tidy. A house that is dirty and unkempt can be almost impossible to sell. Your Des Moines real estate agent will not want to show your home if it is not up to standards, and it is your responsibility to keep it looking its best for however long it takes to sell. If you have to invest money by hiring a Des Moines housekeeping service, then do it you must. It is the most critical part of selling a home, and the small amount it will cost to hire help is nothing compared to how much more money you can make by selling your house quickly.

#2 – Have you ever thought about visiting another open house in the Des Moines area and seeing what it is actually like to view another home? You will be quite surprised at what you find. You need to make a mental note of your thought processes as you walk through the Des Moines home in order to experience what potential buyers are looking at when they walk through yours. It is quite amazing to see this viewpoint. Visiting a friend’s home for a coffee is quite different from actually inspecting a home.

#3 – Work closely with your Des Moines real estate agent. He has a lot of valuable advice he can offer and you need to be willing to accept most of it. He has been playing this real estate game for a lot longer than you have, and even though some of his ideas may not seem right to you, he knows what buyers are looking for. There are certain strategies for selling a home in Des Moines quickly that only the top agents know about. Follow his advice for a quick sale and you’ll never look back.

Use these tips to your advantage and you will find that your Des Moines home can sell very quickly. The bottom line is you must invest the time to make it sell, and the more time you take the faster your Des Moines home will sell.

For everything Des Moines real estate visit us at Real Estate with RE/MAX. Please feel free to contact us with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and we will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call us at 1-800-708-5890 or email us at dsm@realestateconcepts.net.

Real Estate Investment- The Potential for Big Payoffs

Real Estate Investment in Des Moines - The Potential for Big Payoffs, By Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts

There is no other industry that has created so many millionaires as real estate. This is where the big money is and there is a piece of the pie waiting for anybody as long as they are willing to grab it. There are different ways to get started with real estate investment in Des Moines and here are a few of them.

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Modern Style Homes

Modern Style Homes in Des Moines, by Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts

Two modern styles of home building are known as “contemporary” and “shed.”  The styles originated in the 1950’s.  Architects were quite fond of these styles and designed many homes to reflect this.  Contemporary and shed styles break away from the traditional home designs of the past.  Many of these homes were designed by architects.  This quality is appealing to homebuyers in the Des Moines area today.

It is easy to recognize a contemporary style home.  The first thing to notice is the large low-pitched or flat roof.  The eave overhangs are wide and the gables face the front of the home.  In many of the examples seen in Des Moines part of the structure is exposed.  The windows of a contemporary style house are different, and may have unusual shapes.  The placement of the windows is also different from previous architectural styles of the past.  Another giveaway that the house is of the modern style is the lack of ornamentation to the exterior.  However, they are far from plain.  The architectural design makes contemporary houses interesting and unique.

The shed style of building is similar to the contemporary style.  The most obvious difference between these two styles is with the roof line.  They have moderate to high pitched rooflines.  Many of these rooflines are angled in a different direction.  Each of these “pieces” comes together to give the home the look of a geometric sculpture.  The siding material used on shed style homes adds to this geometric modern look.  Predominant architects of this style, Robert Venturi and Charles Moore, used wood-shingle wall cladding on the exterior of their home designs.  Other architects and builders used board siding and brick veneer in place of the wood-shingling.  The material was applied in several different directions including horizontally, diagonally, and of course, vertically.  The windows of shed homes are of different sizes and tend to be small.  The key to a shed home is asymmetry.

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Des Moines real estate. For complete information about the Des Moines real estate market including current homes for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to everything Des Moines real estate at Real Estate with RE/MAX. Please feel free to contact us with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and we will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call us at 1-800-708-5890 or email us at dsm@realestateconcepts.net.

Creating Curb Appeal – A Checklist

Creating Curb Appeal – A Checklist, by Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts

Curb appeal is a vital part of successfully selling your house in the Des Moines area. The exterior of a house and its surrounding property is a visual invitation to the buyer to enter the home.  If your curb appeal is not inviting, potential buyers may not even walk in the front door to see all of what your home has to offer.  This checklist is meant as a guide to help homeowners focus on areas that will attract buyers to view the interior of the home.

Curb Appeal Checklist:

Lawn Care
- mow lawn
- remove weeds
- rake and remove yard waste

Plants and Shrubs
-     trim
-     remove weeds
-     rake and remove yard waste
-     perennial plants add interest and value to a property
-     annual flowers add a punch of color to the yard

Trees
-     trim branches as necessary
-     consider having damaged or dead trees removed

Fences
-     inspect for damage
-     repair as necessary
-     paint if needed

Mailbox
-     check condition, repair or replace if necessary
-     secure in the ground
-     check for plumb

Driveways
-     safe
-     clean
-     repair cracks
-     consider seal-coating if appropriate

Garage
-     keep organized
-     keep swept
-     consider painting interior walls

Tools and Toys
-     keep in good working condition
-     keep stored in proper place
-     put bicycles and outdoor toys away when not in use

Lighting
-     clean outside fixtures
-     replace burnt exterior bulbs

Exterior Home Features
-     inspect trim and shutters – clean, repair, replace as necessary
-     gutters – clean, repair, replace as necessary
-     Polish metal items such as brass or chrome accents

Porches and Patios
-     inspect and make necessary repairs
-     clean cobwebs, paint as necessary

Real estate agents are experts with selling homes.  They have experience with curb appeal and can help you present your home in the best possible way to achieve a sale in the De Moines area.

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Des Moines real estate. For complete information about the Des Moines real estate market including current homes for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to everything Des Moines real estate at Real Estate with RE/MAX. Please feel free to contact us with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and we will be more than glad to answer your questions. Call us at 1-800-708-5890 or email us at dsm@realestateconcepts.net.

Condos- A Lucrative Investment Opportunity

Condos in Des Moines - A Lucrative Investment Opportunity, by Des Moines Real Estate Experts RE/MAX Real Estate Concepts

More and more Des Moines real estate investors are putting their money into condos as the baby boomers age, retire and look for suitable accommodations. Condos in Des Moines offer the perfect setting for almost any age bracket, and with this hustle and bustle world are virtually maintenance free.

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