5 Cheap DIY Projects to Help Your Home Sell Faster
The San Diego real estate market is competitive and sellers need their listing to stand out. Hiring a San Diego real estate agent with a good marketing plan and being reasonable with the listing price will help the home get more showings, but doesn’t mean it will get an offer. These simple, yet inexpensive projects can help you get top dollar for your San Diego homes in a shorter amount of time.
Cleaning and decluttering the home always makes a big impact and is free to do. Uncluttering countertops, organizing closets and cabinets, and arranging shelves are all great places to start to help the home show it’s best. Make the home sparkle by dusting ledges, cleaning mirrors, cleaning the grout in tiled surfaces, and cleaning or polishing the wood cabinetry throughout the home. Be sure to also wipe down walls, doors, and light switches in the areas where they get used and touched a lot.
Dirty carpets can cause a potential buyer to turn right around and walk back out the front door. A simple carpet cleaning can have a high impact on how a home shows, and even how a home smells.
Dark rooms of a home tend to feel small and uninviting. Brighten a room by cleaning the windows, replacing dark or old curtains, or by updating light fixtures and replacing burnt out light bulbs. Be sure to move furniture and other objects from in front of windows as they can block sunlight.
Minor repairs can make big differences. Repairing or replacing leaking pipes and dripping faucets is important as buyers always fear the worst when they see these types of things in a home. Buyers always over-estimate repair costs and this will reflect in the price they offer for the home! Make sure plumbing and electrical fixtures are in good working order.
Get curb appeal fast by trimming trees and shrubs, replacing dead plants, keeping grass mowed, and sweeping walkways and driveways. Also consider adding color by planting small flowers in planters or near the entrance to make it more inviting.
These are just a few of the simple, inexpensive ways to keep a home at the top of the list of every potential buyer that walks through the door. The San Diego real estate market is competitive, so make sure your competing!
For more home selling tips and information on San Diego real estate contact Travis Breton at 760-470-2752 or visit www.sdhomesource.com
San Diego First Time Homebuyer Programs
As tax season comes to an end, many San Diego first time homebuyers will start the home buying process using their tax refund as their down payment. Most tax refunds will not cover the entire amount of the minimum 3.5% down payment required by FHA financing that most first time buyers use, so San Diego first time home buyers need to pull the rest from savings or borrow for friends or family. What most people don’t know is that there are many first time home buyer programs in San Diego that can help with down payment assistance.
San Diego first time homebuyers that earn 100 percent or less of the San Diego Area Median Income (AMI) can apply for a Down payment/closing cost assistance grant equal to 4% of the purchase price (not to exceed $7,500), to be used toward the down payment and closing costs. This San diego first time homebuyer grant is recoverable if the homebuyer sells or rents the home within six years. (San Diego Housing Commission)
First time home buyers looking to purchase houses or condominiums within San Diego city limits, can apply for the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program. The San Diego first time buyer can receive a tax credit equal to either 15 or 20 percent of the mortgage interest they pay each year on their federal income taxes.
Qualified San Diego first time homebuyers earning 80 percent or less of the AMI, as adjusted for family size, can apply for the Calhome first time homebuyer mortgage assistance program to purchase homes in the City of San Diego with the help of a deferred second trust deed loan of $19,350.
Home buyers looking for downtown San Diego homes for sale are elligable for the Downtown First-Time Homebuyer Program. This San Diego first time buyer program assists buyers earning 120 percent or less of the AMI to purchase a home in downtown San Diego. This program provides financing, in the form of a second trust deed loan, not to exceed $75,000. The first time home buyer loan is for 30 years at zero percent interest and has no monthly payments for the first five years.
First time homebuyers in San Diego earning 80 percent or less of AMI can apply for the Shared Equity Program to purchase homes in the City of San Diego with the help of a “silent second” trust deed loan for 25 percent of the purchase price or $70,187, whichever is less. No monthly payments of principal or interest are required. Maximum purchase price or appraised value is $280,749.
For first time homebuyers in San Diego looking to purchase in the southeastern areas of the county, the First-Time Homebuyer Shared Equity Program in southeastern San Diego is a great option. First time homebuyers in southeastern San Diego can apply for a shared equity loan. Applicants cannot earn more than 120 percent of the San Diego AMI (for example, $76,080 for a family of four). Interest-free loans are available up to $40,000.
Another good option for San diego first time buyers looking to purchase in the southeastern area of San Diego county is the Down Payment Grant Program. This San Diego down payment assistance program helps with partial down payment costs up to $5,000 which is provided in the form of a cash grant to eligible San Diego first time homebuyers who are in the process of purchasing newly-constructed homes in targeted areas within southeastern San Diego. The first time homebuyer grant is available to homebuyers with household incomes up to 120 percent of the San Diego area median income.
Homebuyers looking for homes for sale in City Heights and would like to make a purchase there, the Home in The Heights program is perfect. The City will fund silent second mortgages for San Diego first time homebCity Heights Redevelopment Project Areauyers of up to $15,000 per property within the to qualified borrowers displaced by school projects. The Home in the Heights loan can be combined with San Diego Housing Commission funds provided by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department that can provide an additional $40,000 or with Price Charities funds that can provide an additional $25,000.
If you purchase a homes for sale in City Heights or a current owner in the City Heights area, the City Heights Redevelopment Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program can help with home repair costs. This home rehabilitation loan program is for very-low and low-income homeowners within the City Heights Redevelopment Project Area. The San Diego home repair program includes Home Repair Loans of up to $10,000 and Exterior Enhancement Loans of up to $5,000, or a combination of the two, for owner-occupants of one- and two-unit properties.
For more information about buying San Diego real estate or if your looking for San Diego Realtors who work with first time homebuyers in San Diego, visit http://sdhomesource.com
5 Factors That Affect Your Credit Score
We all know that keeping track of your credit score, or FICO score, can help in financial planning and protect against damage from identity theft. What most consumers don’t know is how to control their credit scores by knowing the factors involved in determining their credit score. Here are 5 major factors that make up the credit scoring “pie”.
Your payment history on all your accounts makes up about 35% of the credit scoring “pie”. Lenders want to see how you “pay your bills” over a long period of time by looking at the length of your positive credit history and how long you have gone without a negative item. Severe unpaid debts like bankruptcies or foreclosures can stay on your credit report for the better part of a decade, which affects your credit rating even when you have other accounts that have perfect payment history for long periods of time.
Too many credit accounts and a high ratio of credit balances to credit limits accounts for about 30% of your FICO score rating. It is best to keep your balances below 50% of the available credit limit when trying to raise your credit score.
Length of credit history is another important factor that accounts for about 15% of your credit score. Longer credit histories result in higher scores. New credit accounts typically start having a positive influence on your credit rating once they have been established for a year. Another important factor incorporated into credit scores are the duration of time since each account was last used. Having a credit account available but not using it for long periods of time and then racking it up all at once can have a negative affect. Consistence is important.
New credit can account for roughly 10% of the credit scoring pie. Consumers who suddenly take on new debt and potentially overextend themselves are not conveying a sense of stability to the credit scoring system. The number of inquires (called “hard pulls”) on the consumer’s credit reports, the last time a consumer opened an account and how many accounts were opened at that time are all factors that can drag down a FICO score, point by point.
Also accounting for about 10% of the way your FICO score is determined is the type of credit you have. A “healthy mix” of installment loans (mortgage payment, auto loan) and revolving credit from banks is considered better for your credit score. The type of revolving credit is also a factor. 3 department store credit cards is not the same as 3 Visa cards issued from your bank.
Visit http://sdhomesource.com for information on buying or selling San Diego real estate.
The emergence of the Energy Retrofit market
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2011 will be a hallmark year for the Energy Retrofit industry, adding new policies, rebates, and tax incentives that will create value & benefits for San Diego homeowners and services for the construction & real estate industries. The emergence of the Energy Retrofit market offers San Diego homeowners a great opportunity to improve the efficiency of their property. There are pending rebate programs at every governmental level and utility companies. In addition, these programs will stimulate services for San Diego realtors, lenders, energy auditors and the construction industry.
Programs like Homestar is working its way through the Senate. Many of these programs have funding and time limitations so they are on a first come first serve basis.
Energy Upgrade California in San Diego County is part of a new California program that helps property owners improve the energy and water efficiency of their San Diego homes and puts local construction workers back to work. Most of San Diego County is served by San Diego Gas & Electric®. SDG&E offers rebates up to $4000 for the purchase and installation of qualifying energy-efficient measures. Rebates are available on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are spent.
The Home Upgrade, Carbon Downgrade (HU/CD) Energy Retrofit Incentive Program offers financial incentives for San Diego property-owners to complete comprehensive energy-efficient retrofits. The City of Chula Vista will use up to $300,000 of its Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grants to provide incentives for the completion of whole building, energy-efficient retrofits as part of its broader Home Upgrade, Carbon Downgrade program. The building must be located in Chula Vista and retrofits must result in long-term energy consumption reductions. Chula Vista property-owners must also be participating in SDG&E’s Energy Upgrade California (residential) or Energy Efficiency Business Incentive programs. This local incentive, which ranges between $1,000 (prescriptive approach) to $4,000 (performance approach), can be combined with other SDG&E and California incentives.
The Energy Retrofit market is a great new opportunity for San Diego contractors. Energy Retrofits will create immediate work and add incremental work for any San Diego home remodels. It will also launch contractor in a new specialization as a Home Performance Contractor.
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