Spring is officially upon us and is traditionally the time when homeowners spruce up their homes either for their personal enjoyment or to ready them for sale.  While projects for your own enjoyment vary in size and budget, those who are planning to put their homes “on the market” want to get the most “bang” for their buck and ideally a reasonable return on investment. 

Remodeling magazine, in conjunction with REALTOR® magazine, recently released its 2009-10 annual report on the relationship between the cost of remodeling projects and the value that it brings at the time of resale. This is the 22nd year of analyzing national and regional data for 33 of the most popular remodeling endeavors. The projects ranged from a 48.1% return on investment to a 128.9% return. Overall, the Pacific region still retains the position of best return in most categories. San Francisco, CA, Honolulu, HI, Anchorage, AK and El Paso, TX are all high on the list.

September 16th - First Time Home Buyer's $8000 Tax Credit

March Greetings from Sharon and Brian, 

Spring is almost here!  The bluebirds are back, days are getting longer, and everyone is thinking about sprucing up, cleaning, redecorating and, for some of us, preparing our homes for sale.  Most of our clients are first a seller and then a buyer, so the following comments will be informational for everyone. First-time buyers, too!  

Bozeman, MT (Grassroots Newswire) September 28, 2009- People considering the purchase of their first home may be missing a valuable opportunity if they delay much longer, according to Robyn Erlenbush, local ERA^® representative. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included an enhanced First-Time Homebuyer Federal Tax Credit, a housing stimulus that provides a maximum tax credit of $8,000 for first-time home purchases.

On March 14th, nearly one year after assuming the role, Charlie Young, president and chief executive officer of ERA Franchise Systems LLC, addressed over 2,000 of his network’s members at their annual convention to reveal the first of several planned phases to reveal the brand’s new direction. Mr. Young had ascended to the top post under less than ideal circumstances; his predecessor, Brenda Casserly, had passed away only two months after he was brought aboard ERA as its chief operating officer.

Now more than ever, the old adage “you only get one chance to make a good first impression” rings especially true for real estate. With a larger than normal inventory available for buyers to chose from, sellers need to present their homes in the best possible light at all times. Of course the selling process begins with pricing the home properly based on its location, size, and condition. The next phase is to critically assess and evaluate a home’s “showability” to get it into showing condition and ready for potential buyers.