What is a Short Sale?

Short sales can be a great deal for a buyer but a stressful situation for a seller. Not to mention that the short sale process can be a complex transaction altogether!

What makes a home sale a short sale really are two factors:
-The house is valued less than the owner owes (also known as "underwater")
-The homeowner must have a qualified hardship

But what exactly makes a hardship qualified? "I owe more than my house is worth? Isn't that alone a hardship?" The answer to that would be a no. What makes it a hardship is an event that will make it hard for the home owner, whether it be now or in the future, to pay the mortgage.

Here are some examples:
-Job Relocation
-Medical Hardship
-Business Failure
-Death in the Family
-Divorce/Speration
-Loss of Employment

Of course, each situation is different so please consult a professional (like our Mortgage partners) and speak with them!

First Time Buyer Incentive for Rochester

For the 20th year in a row, Rochester will be holding it's "City Living Sundays" event starting on the 18th (with another on the 25th). At both of these events, the city will be offering advice to first time home owners on neighborhoods, financing, and the market.

The events will be attended my Realtors, Lawyers, the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors, as well as lenders and other professions. On top of that, you will be able to find seminars on both home owning and finances.

Agents will be showing their listings in the $45,000 to $200,000 range on Sunday with the Landmark Society of Western New York holding bus tours of the areas the Saturday before. Margot Garcia, senior community housing planner for the city, stated that 62% of homes that had an open house last year sold!

It's Moving Day!

Moving day is both exciting and stressful. Are you ready? Here are some ideas to help you be as prepared as possible (and hopefully knock down the stress a few levels).

Even if you have hired one of our Home Service partners to pack for you, it is still best to be around when it's happening. This let's you know what is where as you start to unpack and place things in your new home later on. Also, if you have hired someone they will give you a list of items. Make sure that not only everything is on it but that you can read the list before you sign it. Last thing you want as you are putting everything in their new places is to find out something is missing...and wasn't on the inventory list.

Draw out the new living space as well and list what you want where. This helps the movers and yourself out! Making a diagram of where you want everything makes it easier when the movers ask and keeps you from having to move everything around afterwards. Doing this should be a great stress reliever for everyone involved. besides, no one wants to stress out over where the large furniture items go!

Make sure pets and children are out of the way. As adorable as they all can be, you don't want them slowing the process by getting in the way of yourself or the professionals. Keep them occupied. outside, or have them spend the day with a family member or friend! Speaking of clearing the way...make sure there is plenty of space for the truck and you know where you want to put it.

Check with any of our Moving Professionals for a free quote! And don't forget to check out today's "Showcase of Homes!"

Adding On or Moving Up?

To finish out this week of home projects that could increase your home value and utilize your space we will look at two last things....Adding On or Moving Up? Of course, many many factors apply here and it is always best to consult a professional like you will find in Nothnagle Home Services.

As time moves on, things change. Children are born, they grow older and yearn for freedom, family moves back in. We mentioned earlier that a use for your basement could be an in-law suite or teen apartment. But have you thought about adding on? Whether it will be a garage to hold the things that were in your basement as you convert it...a three season room so you can get all the benefits of outside but without the bugs from outside...or if you are adding on an apartment, adding on may be a best option for you. Adding on gives you total control as to what it looks like on both the inside and out. You won't be restricted by support beams or the water heater.

But not all of us have the yard space. So what are we to do? Move out? Why not...move up? Attic spaces can sometimes be converted into additional bedrooms or even better yet, a master suite! After all, why not do something for yourself? Of course there can be restrictions with this when it comes to plumbing and supporting the extra weight. So once again you will want to contact a professional that can look at everything and help you make the decisions that are best for you.

Please check out our contracting partners and check us out on both Facebook and Twitter.

Best Exterior Home Improvements

Thinking about changing something outside but want to re-coop your money if you decide to sell soon? Here are some great improvement ideas for the exterior of your home! Stand outside and look at your home as if you were someone who was interested in purchasing it. What are some things that you would change? What sticks out to you in either a negative or positive way?

Siding can make quite the impact on your curb appeal. Whether it be color, fixing damaged pieces, or adding trim...siding can make a great positive improvemnet. If you have cracked or missing pieces of siding, it can be much cheaper to just have those pieces replaced rather than having all of your siding replaced. Exterior decorative trim made of high-density polyurehane foam can also be easily added to "dress-up" the exterior of your home. (Check out our Siding Professional partners)

Next to grab your attention may be the windows and your front door. Not only would these updates benefit your curb appeal but upgrading to higher efficiency windows and doors can also gain you additional tax credits. A new front entry door is generally an easy change to make and makes a great instant home improvement. With a US average home age of 35 years and an average of 73 years in Rochester and 76 years in Buffalo...a buyer can greatly appreciate new windows. Both of these improvements help lower home energy costs and stand up to weather extremes. (Check out our Window/Door Professionals here)