Thinking about Home Remodel?

It's time for the annual results of Remodeling Magazine's 2007 look at the return on home remodel projects. Basically, the return on projects trended down from 2006, a not-too-surprising result nationally due to rising costs and slowing home appreciation. The Pacific West was an exception, though. In July and August of 207, REALTORS® in 65 markets were asked to speculate on the return of project costs, and the Pacific region agents estimated 100 percent return or more for six projects: a wood deck addition, a minor kitchen remodel, fiber-cement siding replacement, wood window replacement, and an upscale wood and vinyl window replacement. Note these are all exterior projects except for the kitchen.

Home office remodels nationally bring the lowest return on remodels. The projects that bring the highest return seem to be based on the buyer's needs, i.e., a minor kitchen remodel which brings one of the highest returns. Careful thought should be given on types of room conversions--reducing the total number of bedrooms to enlarge or create the master suite may be a negative reduction for buyers. When a buyer's space needs match those of the seller's, there is likely to be a high return on a project, so knowing the local demand is important. So if you're a seller thinking about what to re-do, even if you're not going to sell for some time into the future, consider "universal" projects which could be identified with by a prospective buyer.

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Do Abandoned Oil Wells Impact Your Neighborhood

In early Southern California real estate, homeowners were enticed into additional income by having an oil well, literally in the back yard behind a little bungalow house. On a larger scale, oil was drilled for in certain areas which coincide with earthquake fault lines. Many were capped and ultimately receded into dim memory. But no longer. The presence of these wells could have an impact on a seller's use of their property.

While this map gives only the overview, you get the idea of how many active (green) and abandoned (red) oil wells there are in the Long Beach area alone.

The City of Huntington Beach considers this such a vital issue that a report is required by law to be made by a seller as to the whether or not any such wells were ever present on a property.

According to the company which maps these wells, there are 4,000 abandoned wells in Long Beach, 1600 in Signal Hill, and 3600 stretching from Seal Beach to Newport Beach. For a larger version of this map, just e-mail me.

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Do Foreclosure Properties Always Sell Under Market?

"Foreclosed properties sell way below their market value," per Foreclosure Times.com. This is the kind of myth that spreads quickly, and often to the detriment of the investor or buyer.

A lender may buy or take a property back below market, but will price the property as near as possible to local market values in order to recoup their loss. Why would it do otherwise? An example: A Long Beach property where the total loans taken out were approximately $580,000. The property in my CMA analysis had a market value of $645,000-$650,000 in early 2007 if certain improvements were made before going on the market. Eventually, the property was on the market for 6 months, did not sell, even at $599,000, and went into foreclosure. The tax records show the lender took it back for $400,000 (the seller originally bought it for $475,000 about one year prior.) Two months later in October 2007, according to the tax records, it sold for $650,000 to a new owner. That was not an undermarket price.

Another example is an upgraded single family home in Palmdale which was first listed for $399,000 and eventually dropped to $279,000 and still did not sell. After going into foreclosure, the asset management company recently listed it for $329,000.

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Property Tax Reduction

Don't pay more property taxes than what your current market valuation indicates. If you bought property 2 years ago, or less, then you probably want to keep close track of your local selling prices for properties similar to yours. For information on how to apply for property tax reduction, go to the Los Angeles County Tax Assessor's site located at the right column and download the form. You will need to provide certain information about sales within a certain time period for this year, plus get the form submitted by the date stated. For sales information to help you in this process, contact me, I will be happy to help you in your market sales information.

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The Things That Help a Listing Sell

In a market where the inventory is over 6 months in many areas, buyers have a lot more homes to view before deciding to make an offer to the seller. Sellers have much more competition. Buyers have more time to compare. In any market, however, it's always wiser for sellers to prepare their home for sale, and here are some photos of a refurbished house waiting for a buyer.

Not everyone can or will pay a professional stager to set up their home, however, just getting the basics will take a seller a long way:

An uncluttered home that is clean, enough furniture to create the scale of the room or rooms, and the right size furniture so the room does not feel crowded; enough personal possessions so the buyer can identify with the space, yet not too many personal items such as a large number of family photographs that will snag or distract the buyer's attention away from the focus of viewing the house as their potential home; soft or neutral colors that create a background for the buyer to imagine himself living there with his furniture; shiny hardwood floors or a cleaned carpet; clean bathrooms and kitchens with shining counters; a coat of paint and well done repairs. Outdoors, fresh flowers and a raked and watered lawn or other landscaping creates "curb appeal" when the buyer arrives for the showing.

The home in this example is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath single family house listed for $869,000 and has been completely refurbished by the owners/listing brokers Laura and Richard Martin of Laurich Realty.

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