Odessa TX real estate listings and homes for sale, home buying, home selling information – Linda Bedell Legacy Real Estate

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Set the Stage for a Quick Home Sale

September 7th, 2008 2:45 PM

1. Clear the clutter!

BEFORE: This alcove off the living room could be used as a cozy dining area and not just a cluttered passageway. A huge aquarium, dog crate and large TV make the area look like the backroom of a pawn shop instead of a place anyone wants to call home.

AFTER: The aquarium and TV no longer crowd the alcove. Now buyers can see this area as more living space. A new breakfast bar and stools make the space functional, and neutral-colored walls make the area seem more spacious.

2. Let the style and the sun shine in.

BEFORE: This guest bedroom was skimpy on style. The wood paneling darkened the space and made it feel dated, and a hodgepodge of homely furniture made the room feel cramped. Ugly metal blinds make the room seem as bleak as a room in a cheap motel.

AFTER: Neutral paint on the walls, contemporary window treatments and a new furniture arrangement help direct potential buyers' eyes to the room's greatest selling point --- that sunlit view. New bedding, pillows and accessories put the icing on the staging cake.

3. Small furniture makes a room look bigger.

BEFORE: The dining room was cramped with too-large furniture, and the wallpaper, tablecloth and accessories looked like they belonged in your grandma's house. Rooms that look small will shrink the value of your home.

AFTER: The new-and-improved dining room now has an open layout. The new, round table and tablecloth make it appear larger and make the room seem to flow. Fresh wall paint, bright new window treatments, a light fixture and accessories put the bang in the room's yin and yang.

4. Unfinished projects = unsold house.

BEFORE: The lack of doors on the kitchen cabinets make this galley kitchen look cluttered and cramped. The homeowner took the doors off the cabinets because he wanted a loft-apartment feel, but he never finished the shelves.

AFTER: The cabinets have been sanded and painted white to match the shelving, and brushed-nickel handles have been added for a modern touch. A cleanup of clutter and a new light fixture complete the look. A new chandelier and contemporary art pieces in the dining room make the room look as chic as a Chanel suit.

5. Clearly define a room's function.

BEFORE: What's a big dining table doing in the living room? Not only is this piece of furniture out of place, it's also out of scale and makes the room look tiny.

AFTER: The living area functions as it should. With the dining table gone and stools added, the bar can be used. The open floor plan makes the room ideal for entertaining guests and calls attention to the beautiful hardwood floors.

6. Hardwood floors rock.

BEFORE: The apartment-grade carpet is brown and dingy.

AFTER: Ripping out the dirty carpet and refinishing the hardwood floors turns this room from yow to wow.

7. Don't be afraid of color.

BEFORE: This sterile, colorless bathroom looks like it belongs in a hospital, not someone's home. The only color in the room is the splatter of paint left on the wall from a failed home improvement project.

AFTER: The coordinating window treatment and shower curtain add texture and color to the room, and new lighting, accessories and fresh paint complete the look.

Posted by Linda Bedell on September 7th, 2008 2:45 PMPost a Comment (0)

Why you need a pre-approval letter

September 7th, 2008 3:17 PM

Make sure you get a pre-approval for a mortgage, not a pre-qualification. A pre-qualification is where you give a mortgage broker a hypothetical set of credit scores, income, etc., and they give you back an interest rate and terms that the hypothetical borrower you've described would qualify for. A pre-approval is where the mortgage pro reviews your credit, your income and your assets, and conditionally offers you a particular mortgage (or several), putting that offer in writing in letter form. It is critical that you be pre-approved -- not pre-qualified -- before you get in the car to go house hunting with your Realtor because:

You can make an offer as soon as you see "the one" - Most sellers won't even look at an offer to purchase their home that is not accompanied by a pre-approval letter. If you see it, then have to wait a day to get a pre-approval letter, you could very well end up losing your new home or wind up in a bidding war over it.
You won't see homes way above your price range - Once you are pre-approved, your mortgage pro will give you a purchase price limit. DO NOT go looking at homes that are outside of your limit. I promise you that after you see the million dollar house, the one that costs $300,000 doesn't look too good.
You won't see homes that are way below your price range - People who erroneously assume they can only afford a $150,000 house might get really depressed, disgusted and frustrated with what they can find in some markets.

Posted by Linda Bedell on September 7th, 2008 3:17 PMPost a Comment (0)

Top 10 Ways to Repair Your Credit & Boost Your Score

September 7th, 2008 2:37 PM

When it comes to repairing your credit, you're the best person for the job.

Credit repair scam artists will charge you anywhere from $500 to $1,500 or more upfront, and promise you everything from a new Social Security card to perfect credit.

But these companies can't do anything for you that you can't do for yourself -- for free -- and they might ultimately do more harm than good.

What should you do if you have bad credit? Here are 10 tips that are designed to improve your credit history and raise your credit score:

1. Pull a copy of your credit history from AnnualCreditReport.com. Sponsored by the three credit-reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, AnnualCreditReport.com is the only place you can go to get a truly free copy of your credit history. Each credit-reporting bureau is required to give you one copy once a year. You should pull copies from each of the bureaus, since they sometimes collect different data.

2. While you're there, buy a copy of your credit score from Equifax.com. Equifax offers a FICO score, also known as a Beacon score, which is from Fair Isaac, the company that created the concept of credit scoring. Most creditors will pull a FICO score, so you should see what they're seeing. Your credit score will give you a snapshot of what your credit information means to your creditors. The FICO score runs from 350 to 850. The higher the number, the better. Your target should be to have a credit score of at least 720.

3. Check your credit history thoroughly. You're looking for errors, misinformation and negative information that might count against you. File a dispute with the three credit-reporting bureaus if you spot any errors. Some credit reports have serious errors in them, so fixing these will boost your score.

4. Understand what kind of debt you're facing. Make a list of everything you owe, the interest rate each debt carries, and the minimum payment due each month. Then, prioritize your debt: mortgage, real estate taxes, credit cards and medical bills should be paid in that order.

5. Negotiate with your creditors for a lower interest rate. Paying less in interest means more of your payment each month goes toward paying down your balance. If you have a good credit score (over 720 is a starting point), you should be able to find other credit cards featuring zero percent to 5 percent in interest for the first year, or for the life of a balance transfer (check out sites like CardRatings.com and CardTrak.com to compare credit-card offers.) Just be sure you read the fine print: Some credit cards require you to charge on the new account each month or face a stiff fee.

6. Pay down the debt with the highest interest rate first. Pay your mortgage and home equity loan and lines of credit in full each month. Then, make sure you have enough cash to make all of the minimum payments due on your debt each month. Then, throw any spare cash at the debt that carries the highest interest rate first. Once you've paid down that debt, transfer all of the extra cash you're paying each month to the debt with the next-highest interest rate, and so on.

7. Pay everything on time, even if you can make only the minimum payment. The most crucial component of your credit history and credit score is your ability to pay your bills on time each month. Paying on time shows your creditors that you take your debts and obligations seriously. Even one late payment can seriously damage your credit history and credit score, even though it can take a year's worth of on-time payments to start to heal your credit history and raise your credit score. It doesn't seem fair, but that's how the credit industry works.

8. Don't charge more than 25 percent of your maximum available credit limit. If you carry a credit-card balance that is a higher percentage of your available credit limit, your credit score will go down. Why? Because creditors believe if you charge the maximum on your credit cards, it means you can't properly manage your credit. You're better off spreading out your debt between three or four different cards than having it all piled on one card.

9. Don't open and close a lot of accounts. Again, a credit score tells current and future creditors how likely it is that you won't pay back your debts. It assesses how risky a borrower you are today. Every time you apply for a new credit card, that creditor pulls a copy of your credit history from the credit-reporting bureaus. That "inquiry" gets reported on your credit history. Too many inquiries in a short period of time signals that you may be getting low on your available credit and need more cash. Even though you might be interested in getting 10 percent off your first purchase for opening a new account, it looks different to a prospective creditor.

10. Don't share credit (except with a spouse). It's easy to tell someone that you'll "co-sign" a credit card, student loan or a mortgage loan application, especially if it's someone you've known for a long time. But it's also easy to wind up in a situation where that friend or relative stops paying his or her bills (for whatever reason) and your credit will take a big hit. Once you're a co-signer for a loan, you're legally obligated to make those payments -- whether or not you can afford them. So think carefully before you agree to co-sign a loan, and nip the problem of bad credit before it begins.

Posted by Linda Bedell on September 7th, 2008 2:37 PMPost a Comment (0)