Real Estate Information Archive

The 2016 Cost vs Value Report shows that home improvement projects relating to curb appeal and energy efficiency had the highest rate of return.

The report compares the average cost of 30 popular remodeling projects against the value of those projects at resale in 100 US markets. The average cost and average return at resale for the 30 projects in this year’s report resulted in an average of 64.4% of a project’s investment dollars getting recouped if the home is sold within a year. That’s up from 62% in the 2015 report and the second-highest return in the past eight years.

Many of the biggest percentage gains were for higher-dollar upscale projects (jobs that are more expansive and complicated than midrange projects). Four of the top five gains in cost recouped were for upscale projects. Topping the list was:

• fiberglass entry door (energy efficiency project) up 21.2%
• two-story addition, an 8.1% higher recoupment than in the 2015 report
• the master suite, up 6.5% and
• major kitchen remodel, 4.2% higher 

The report is broken down into national results and then regionally. Click here for the full 2016 Cost vs. Value Report and here to view the data specifically for the Philadelphia region.

Courtesy of Chester County PA Realtor Scott Darling.

Perhaps you have been searching for your dream home and you have already found the one you really want but before you get a chance to do anything about it you drive by and notice it is ‘under contract’ or ‘pending’.  If this happens to you, don’t give up on your dreams there are things that you can do to make things go in your favor.  Below are a few ideas for you to try if you find that your dream home is about to slip through your fingers.

• First of all if you find that the home you have your eye on is ‘under contract’ you need to know that you shouldn’t give up.  Under contract doesn’t mean that the sale has taken place it only means that an offer has been made but that it hasn’t closed yet.   There is still a good chance that the home may come back on the market again especially if the buyer cannot come up with the funds needed through financing.  Another reason a sale pending may fall through is if the inspection doesn’t work out.
• Talk to your Realtor and let she or he know that you are interested in the house that is under contract.  Many times seller’s agents will continue to show a home until the last minute.  They do so because they may be hoping for a better offer than they currently have.  They also do this so that if the funding falls through for the current bidder they will have someone else in line to make an offer quickly afterwards. 
• If you REALLY want this house and you don’t want it to slip through your fingers you can always make a higher bid than is currently in play.   If you can afford to do this, it can be an easy way to make things go in your favor. 
• Sending a handwritten note to the seller is a great way to let them know just how serious you are about purchasing their home.  Hand written letters are pretty much a thing of the past these days and a handwritten note may make all the difference in the seller’s decision. 

Some of these tips for snatching your dream home  out of ‘under contract’ or ‘pending’ status are pretty unconventional but if you really want the home to be your own you may be willing to do whatever it may take. In the end if you don’t end up getting the home, there is another one out there that is better for you and your family. 

Courtesy of Chester County PA Realtor Scott Darling.

So you have just made one of the biggest purchases of your life by buying a home of your own and now you need to make it a bit more private.  You have come to the right place!  Let’s look at a few tips for creating more privacy in your new home. 

• If you happen to live in a big city where the houses are basically on top of each other you may want to line your floors with a lot of area rugs.  While this simple step to making more privacy in your new home sounds like a silly thing, it really will help to keep the noise level down to a minimum if your neighbors tend to be loud. 
• Lined curtains are a perfect way to help your home feel like an oasis in the middle of the country even if it is not.  These types of curtains also help to filter out loud noises as well. 
• If you have a spot on your windowsills to put planters they can aid you in making your home more private.  All you need to do is put some tall plants in the planters and voila, you will have more privacy from your neighbors. 
• One good way to have privacy outdoors for your new home is by putting up a privacy fence.  Privacy fences can help to keep pets safe as well as make your outdoor area a nice place to “get away from it all”, which we can all use every now and again. 
• Tall scrubs and trees are a great way to shield yourself from your neighbors and make your home feel more private.  Scrubs and trees will also help to make your new home more beautiful and help the environment as well. 
• If you simply cannot feel enough privacy in your new home, you can hide in a reading nook under the stairs or in a small attic space so that you can escape from time to time from those around you.  If your new home doesn’t have a small space like this, you can likely make one quite easily. 

Lastly if privacy is extremely important to you, it may be worth your while to look for a home in the wide open country so that you don’t have to make any previsions for more privacy. 

Courtesy of Chester County PA Real Estate Expert Scott Darling.

When you are looking to find a mate to marry you may spend years and years before you find the one that is meant for you to be with, however you don’t need to look for years to find “the one” when it comes to house hunting.  There are ways to know when you have found the right house for you but you may need to make a few tweaks in your wish list to make it all possible.  Below are a few ideas to help make finding your dream home  a bit easier. 

• A good way to get started finding the house that you have always dreamed of owning is to make a list of your expectations.  You should list your must have items in order of how important they are to you.  As you begin house hunting you may want to rearrange your list a little depending on what you find on the market.  It may be helpful to put a star beside the expectations that are most important to you so that you don’t forget something.
• It’s perfectly alright to look online as much as you want at houses when you are shopping for a home but it may be wise to limit your actual house viewings.  If you visit too many homes during your house search you may find that it becomes a bit overwhelming and you may also realize that you are trying to create the home of your dreams by piecing together bits and pieces of each house you look at.  Narrow down your actual house viewings to about four of your top picks.  This will help you to more easily narrow down your search and to make a final decision more quickly.  
• If you find that you simply cannot find what you are looking for in the current real estate market, perhaps it may be best for you to stop looking for a month or two and wait to see what may pop up.  You may find that the home of your dreams is only a few short months away from being found. 

Again, you may need to make a few adjustments to your wish list once you start looking for a home but that doesn’t mean you cannot find the perfect home for you and your family.     If the house you choose doesn’t have everything you hoped it would, you can always add things once you move in. 

Courtesy of Chester County PA Real Estate Expert Scott Darling!

You may think that it might be impossible to sell your home while you and your children are living in it, especially if you have a lot of small children.  Selling your home doesn’t have to be a major headache as there are many tips and tricks to get the job done even with the little ones running around making messes everywhere.  Let’s take a look at a few tips on how to sell your home despite the "little people".

• A good idea to get your kids involved in the process of selling your home is to get them to take care of any clutter they may see around the house.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be clutter they created, just any kind of mess that may be lying around will do.  Kids love to feel helpful and what better way to help them feel helpful than to get them to help.  If you have older kids you can perhaps motivate them with a bit of cash to get the job done correctly. 
• You and your kids need to make a plan for when someone comes to tour your home so that you can all get out of the house together and have something fun to do.  When you have a last minute showing you and your children will easily remember that plan and head out together to wherever you have already decided upon.  A good place to go if it is summertime or springtime is the local park; if it’s cold the library might be a good option. 
• Have your children be in charge of packing their own rooms away for the future move.  They can easily pick through their toys and pick out the ones they don’t play with as often and go ahead and pack them away in boxes.  This is also cool to do because once you finally make the big move it will feel like Christmas to them when they open the boxes filled with toys they had forgotten they had. 

Whatever you do, try to make the packing and moving as low key as you possibly can, for your sake as well as your children’s.  Kids can sense when you are upset or stressed about something and then they can upset and stressed.  Do your part to make the transition of selling your home as smooth as possible. 

Courtesy of Chester County PA Realtor Scott Darling!

Whether you are selling your home or you are looking to buy a home, there are a few things that you need to know to help your home inspection go as well as it possibly can.  Home buyers need to know that the house they are buying is in good shape and home sellers need to be on the up and up when selling their home. When it comes to home inspections there are a few tips that can help the inspection go smoothly and the process be as stress free as possible. 

• If you are selling your home and you have a home inspection on the schedule, do your part to make it easy on the inspector by getting your pets out of the house while he or she is doing the inspection.  Your home inspector may love and adore animals as much as you do but your pets being under their feet during the inspection will not make the job any easier. 
• During a home inspection, typically the potential buyers are inside alone with the inspector and they may want to look around to take one last look at things before making a final decision.  If you want to make a good impression on those potential buyers, you may want to clean up the clutter you have left laying around.  Believe it or not clutter can cause a potential home buyer to walk away without making an offer.
• As a home buyer don’t freak out if the home inspector comes up with a list of things that need to be taken care of in the house.  You need to realize that most houses have some sort of upkeep or maintenance that needs to be taken care of and that inspector’s are known for being nitpicky.   Realize too that most everything can be fixed.  Even the dreaded mold and radon.  Realize as well that home inspectors cannot predict the future and won’t be able to tell you how long something will last; they will just be able to tell you that it needs attention. 

Hopefully these tips will help you out the next time you have a home inspector coming to your home, whether you are selling or buying.  Remember that the home inspector is there to help you not to harm you or to ruin your dreams.

Courtesy of Chester County PA Realtor Scott Darling.

We all have New Year’s resolutions each year.  Why not make 2016 a great one by deciding once and for all to get your finances in order.  There are several ways that you can make a big step to improving your finances for this coming year that are not that difficult to do. 

• One of the first things you should do in order to get a hold of your finances is to write down everything you spend for at least a month.  This way you will be able to clearly see where your money is going and where it is not.  You may find that you are a bit surprised by exactly how much money you waste on a daily basis buying things that you can definitely do without. 
• Another easy step to taking a hold of your financial situation this coming year is to start paying off your credit cards.  It is a good idea to start with the smallest amounts owed on credit and pay that amount off first, then move to the larger amounts owed and whittle them down as well.  Once you pay off your credit cards do your best to do without them if you possibly can.  Living on a cash only basis is a great way to take charge of your finances.  If you don’t have it, you don’t spend it…it can be as simple as that!
• This is a bit old school, but clipping coupons is a great way to help ease financial strains that you may have gotten yourself into.  There are several ways to coupon and many times you can get products completely free of charge if you get good enough at couponing.   Make a stockpile of things that you use on a regular basis such as toilet paper and toothpaste and other items you can get very cheap or free.
• If you can, it is a good idea to save up an emergency fund for things that may go wrong now and again such as car repairs and the like.  A good amount to strive to save up is around $1,000.  This will be a big help when you find yourself in need. 

This should be a good start to getting you thinking about your finances and how to take control of them before they take control of you.  This time of year it can be hard to think about finances due to the holidays and all that they include but it is well worth it if you do so that you can start out the New Year in the right direction.   

Courtesy of Chester County PA Realtor Scott Darling.

Realtor.com has ranked the HOTEST Real Estate Markets in November. The temperatures may be dropping but California real estate is hot, hot, hot scoring 12 of the top 20 spots with San Francisco as #1. The good news for the rest of the country is trends always seem to start in California and move eastward. This bodes well for our local market in 2016!

Residential activity in Chester County (Single-family and Condo)

What's happening in the Local Market?

November was right where expected, sales up, but not by as much as we’ve been seeing, and prices level. Year-to-date sales are up 14% and median sales price is up 2%. Looking ahead to next year as predictions from experts begin to appear: more of the same. Strongest headwinds are low inventory and the probability of mortgage rates increasing, although it’s unlikely that the expected increase to 4.5% by the end of 2016 will adversely impact home sales.

Curious about the value of your home? Get your home's value here!

Think you know what a real estate agent does on a daily basis?  You might have to think again in order to correctly identify all the responsibilities on the shoulders of your REALTOR (a real estate agent who is a member of the National Board of Realtors).   You most likely would be surprised—and impressed—to discover the wide range and long list of activities undertaken by your REALTOR in your pursuit of buying/selling a home.

A basic job description would include renting, and buying, and selling (oh, my!) real estate for clients, interviewing potential clients, previewing and showing  property, discussing sales conditions, drawing up and presenting offers, holding open houses, and writing contracts—all the while meeting deadlines and hand-holding when necessary.  Oh, but there is so much more for your REALTOR to do, including, but certainly not limited to, the following duties:

• Staying current with market trends in your area
• Analyzing comparables
• Exploring and evaluating mortgage options
• Finding buyers or properties for clients
• Scheduling appraisals
• Keeping up with changing federal/state laws and program
• Negotiating between parties
• Preparing MLS listings
• Promoting properties via ads, web sites, videos, and virtual tours
• Completing required courses, attending seminars, and the like
• Coordinating inspections, walk-throughs, and closings
• Arranging for title searches

But did you know that the National Association of Realtors awards grants to groups of state and local real estate associates who attempt to go above and beyond in promoting and expanding housing opportunities in their communities?  These REALTORS work together to design and implement affordable housing programs and are thus eligible for the NAR grants twice a year.  In addition, the NAR offers programs, training, and resources for these groups.  Click here for details of the Housing Opportunity Program.

Remember, real estate doesn’t sell due to advertising alone. In fact, a large share of real estate sales comes as the result of a practitioner’s contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends, and family. When a property is marketed with the help of a REALTOR®, you do not have to allow strangers into your home. Your REALTOR® will generally pre-screen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.                                                                                

Contact us!  We’re qualified, experienced, and looking forward to assisting you.

Courtesy of Chester County PA Real Estate Expert Scott Darling!

The time is upon us and Christmas will be here before you know it.   Finding the right Christmas tree for your  home can be a lot of fun if you go about it the right way and with a few guidelines. Below are some tips for putting up your Christmas tree without messing up your home.

• The first thing you should do even before purchasing your Christmas tree is to prepare your home for its arrival.  If you have furniture that will need to be moved out of the way in order for your tree to take its rightful spot in your home then go ahead and move it out of the way before you leave so that when you arrive home you won’t have to worry about it being in your way. 
• Be sure to put a sheet down before you drag the Christmas tree across your hardwoods.  The sap that is possibly still present in your tree can get onto your hardwood floors and destroy them if you are not careful.   This will also make it easier for you to put the tree where you want it as it will alleviate you having to carry the tree through the house. 
• Take measurements where you want your tree to go before you go get one.  This way when you are searching for a tree you know exactly what size you will need for the space allotted.  No one wants to pay top dollar for a Christmas tree only to get it home and realize you have to cut three inches or more off so that it won’t hit the ceiling. 
• Water your tree daily to avoid it catching on fire due to dry and brittle branches.  Be sure if your tree is not freshly cut that you trim at least a half inch off the bottom of the tree before you place it in its stand and water it, otherwise the tree will not be able to absorb the water and therefore will die prematurely and may catch fire.   

Now that you have read these tips for setting up your Christmas tree, you better get on out there and get you one of your own before Christmas has come and gone!

Courtesy of Chester County PA Realtor Scott Darling.