TeamResults

Hiring a home inspector before purchasing a house, condo, or newly built
home can sheild buyers from unknown problems arising from faulty, or
damaged systems. The relatively low cost of hiring a qualified home inspector pales when compared to protecting a large investment.

When considering which inspector to hire consider their experience, professionalism, and industry associations. Your inspector should be a member in good standing with organizations like CREIA, CCI, and RHI. These are trade assocations which require members to maintain a quality work ethic and engage in continuing education programs. Don't forget to ask about licensing & insurance when interviewing potential inspectors.

Your home inspector will inspect the interior and exterior areas of the home as well as attic and crawl spaces below the home. All accessible systems in the home will be inspected such as heating and air conditioning, roof, plumbing, windows & doors, foundations, and ammeneties like pools and spas.

Remember that a property inspection covers only areas that are accessible at the time of the inspection. Inspectors will not make any alterations in order to access any of these systems.

Your inspector should produce a detailed analysis and report on the condition of the home you are about to purchase, and provide copies to each party to the transaction as well as your agent. This report will likely include descriptions, age, and condition of systems in the home.

It is likely that the inspector will find problems, infact I've never heard of a perfect "everything's fine" inspection, even in new construction. Its important to understand that these problem areas are not a repair list but a disclosure of the condition of each element of the home. The reports purpose is to allow the buyer to make a fully informed decision based on information that would not otherwise be obtained. Few agents and even the homeowner's themselves are qualified to make many statements regarding a home's condition.

Finally, consider this; just because a roof leaks, or the air conditioner only works in the winter doesn't mean that this particular home isn't a great deal, a good investment, and won't provide the stability, and protection owning a home should give.

For a list of respected home inspectors in the Southern California region, please feel free to contact me at TeamResults@Century21.com.

Try this... Visit http://maps.google.com.

Once the website loads, Then click on "Get Directions" 

In the From section type in "New York"  and in the To section, type "London".

The directions are pretty straight forward as you would expect until you scroll down to  number 24. That one confused me even though it made perfect sense.

Thanks friends... Have a great day.

Regards,

John Wall
C21 Results

There may be some relief coming for homeowner's who face foreclosure action by their lender. Washington Mutual, Bank of America, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, and Wells Fargo, received letters asking for a six month moratorium on Foreclosures and instead urging these major lenders in the California market to focus on finding ways to keep borrowers from loosing their homes.

Many thousands of borrowers in California are at risk of default because they took on risky loans, and could loose their homes. Consumer groups, legal aid groups, housing services, at least place some blame on the lenders themselves because of loose underwriting which pushed some borrowers into loans they couldn't afford.

The Los Angeles Times quoted the associate director of California Reinvestment Coalition as saying "We are asking the largest lenders in the state to take leadership so that families can keep their homes and California's economy won't suffer".

Have you heard the buzz about staged homes? They're out there and they are just one more handy thing in our home-selling toolbox. Its true that a staged home often will sell faster and many times get higher premium that at least covers the cost of staging.

When staging just isn't cost effective or for one reason or another not a viable option, there are tricks you can do to get many of the benefits of a staged home. First and foremost, its imperative that as a homeowner you take a step back and detach your emotional connection to your home. I know that its easy to say and harder to do, but it really is important.

As a professional agent, here are the things I look at in a home that I have on the market.

• Cleanliness
• Clutter
• Curb-Appeal

I call them "the Three C's". Potential buyers base their first impressions and judgments about a home on the Three C's. Once that impression is made, it is very difficult to change their mind.

In terms of repairs, cleaning is the easiest to do, and like the most effective. So get on your hands and knees and start scrubbing. Wash everything; fixtures, windows, floors, cabinets, counters, every single surface should get a thorough scrubbing. Don't neglect the hidden areas, vacuum behind furniture, in closets, under the beds. Sweep underneath kitchen appliances.

Then its time to look at clutter. Your priceless family treasures, may hold special memories for you, your collection of figurines may be a source of pride, but to potential buyers - these things cloud their imagination. If a buyer can't imagine their own personal affects scattered around your home, they won't be inclined to buy it.

Also, contrary to popular belief... Size does matter! By removing the things that you don't need, and organizing the things you do will make your home seem larger. This includes furniture. Consider taking out some furniture. That love seat, sofa, or recliner really just clutters the living room.

If you can't seem to part with things, rent storage space. The first corner cutting that sellers try is to stash away everything in the hall closet or under the sink. Trust me, that won't work. As buyer's tour your home, they will open every door, drawer, and hideaway they find. If those spaces are full of your clutter, they'll get the impression that there isn't enough space for their Hummel figurines.

It seems to me that the minor problems with a home have big impacts on potential buyers. So fix your leaky faucets, upgrade outdated and worn fixtures, make sure doors and windows open and close with ease. These things are simple and effective.

For curbappeal,  nothing beats a freshly landscaped yard. Make sure lawns are mowed, and edged, and watered frequently. Bushes and shrubs should be neatly manicured. Don't forget lighting too... Yard, and walk lights should be in working order.  While you're outside take a look at your paint job. Could it use a little freshening up? A coat of paint is inexpensive and covers a multitude of sins. If your custom colors don't match the rest of the neighborhood, its time to fall in line get with the program. Your paint colors should be neutral and soft. Tans, taupe, off whites seem are best. When considering pain, don't ignore architecturally accurate colors. If your home is a Victorian style, you don't want to use Craftsman colors. Also, don't use Victorian purple on your Spanish ranch house.

These things are simple to do, inexpensive and offer the most rewards. Ask your agent for help with these things. Your agent is a fantastic resource for referrals and recommendations for cleaners, painters, handypersons,  gardeners, etc.

© 2007, John Wall, All rights reserved.

http://www.TeamResults21.com

I've just been made aware of an ugly scam that is affecting a lot of people in Southern California and other places. This is an insidious scam that takes advantage of the turbulent finance environment.

Consumer advocates and Mortgage Brokers (the reputible ones) are warning of this fraud where someone, under a false company or individual comes along and claims to be the new servicer of a borrowers loan. The new party will collect as many payments as possible before being discovered and then move on. Borrowers can loose a lot of money to this scam while at the same time, may face foreclosure because their 'real' payments aren't being made.

Its easy to fall for this scam because as we all know, its not uncommon to have a loan change hands several times, over the life of a loan. The way to fight this menace is to call your current lender, using the number on your mortgage coupon or older paperwork, and ask if your loan was sold.

Legally, the old and new lender must notify you in writing when your loan is sold. Verify any documents you receive about a new servicer, and don't trust any contact details is those documents. Use your own resources to contact your lender. If you just start sending payments without checking, you'll likely end up regretting it.

Contact your local law enforcement agency if you become a victim of this scam. 

 Regards,

John Wall