A home appraisal is an independent opinion of your home’s value, performed by a licensed home appraiser. Appraisals are part of the traditional home purchase process, and lenders require them for most refinances, too.
Appraisers are trained professionals. First, they derive a base for your home’s value based on the recent sales prices of homes that are comparable to yours in terms of bedrooms, bathrooms, style, and square footage.
Then, accounting for features and amenities that make your home different, the appraiser applies “adjustments” to that base value.
This methodology is called the “Sales Comparison” approach and the result is your home’s appraised value.
It’s the most common appraisal method used by lenders.
As a homeowner in Lexington , you can’t affect the sales prices of your home’s comparable properties, but you can help your appraiser understand how your home stands apart from these homes. This, in turn, can affect your home’s adjustments, resulting in a higher appraised value.
With home appraisals, every valuation dollar can matter. With that in mind, here are a few tips for maximizing your home’s appraised value :
Be home for your appraisal so you can answer the appraiser’s question, if there are any.
Mention any new roofing, flooring, HVAC, plumbing, or windows you’ve installed since purchase.
Don’t mention projects or repairs you’re “about to undertake”. Appraisers don’t credit for unfinished projects.
Make minor household fixes prior to the appraisal (e.g.; leaky sink, running toilet, peeling paint).
Present a tidy home. This can contribute to a higher “overall condition” adjustment.
Lastly, schedule the appraisal for a time that is convenient for your entire household. An appraiser needs to see, measure, and take photos of every room in your home. If a room’s door is closed because of a resting child, for example, the appraiser may need to schedule a second appointment to complete the appraisal, and that can raise your appraisal costs.
An estimated 356,000 in-home fires caused more than $7 billion in U.S. residential property damage in 2009, according to data from the United States Fire Administration.
The fires caused more than 12,000 injuries, and killed more than 2,500 people in Arlington, Lexington, Winchester and nationwide.
Unfortunately, many of affected homes did have smoke detectors — they just weren’t working properly. This is why it’s critically important to test your home’s smoke detectors at least once annually.
When you test a smoke detector, you’re making sure that the alarm will trigger in the event of a real-life fire. A proper test will confirm that the batteries have useful life, and that the device’s smoke detection components are operating as expected.
To test your smoke detector, here’s what to do :
Make a checklist of your home’s smoke detectors
Go to the first smoke detector
Ask a helper to go to the farthest point from the detector within your home
Press the smoke detector’s testing button up to 10 seconds to activate the alarm
Confirm with your helper that the alarm could be heard from his/her location
Note on the checklist whether the smoke detector worked, or needs replacement
You can also take your test a step further.
Just because the smoke detector’s alarm can be heard from the farthest point in your house doesn’t mean that the alarm will sound in the event of a real fire. Therefore, you may want to buy a “smoke test”.
Smoke tests are aerosol cans that simulate a bona fide in-home fire. You can buy them for less than $15 at your local hardware store, or at Amazon.com. If your smoke detector fails to sound its alarm in the presence of a “real fire”, make sure you replace it right away.
In the housing market, amenities and location have as much to do with a home’s value as the everyday forces of supply-and-demand. Whereas the latter causes home values to rise and fall over time, the former creates a starting point for said values.
Where you live — and the features of your home — determine your home’s price range. Naturally, homes in some areas are consistently higher-valued than homes in others.
Using data compiled by real estate market data firm Altos Research, Forbes Magazine presents America’s 10 most expensive ZIP codes. California and the New York Metro area dominate the list.
Alpine, NJ (07620) : $4,550,000
Atherton, CA (94027) : $4,295,000
Sagaponack, NY (11962) : $3.595,000
Hillsborough, CA (94010) : $3,499,000
Beverly Hills, CA (90210) : $3,469,891
New York, NY (10012) : $3,392,574
New York, NY (10013) : $3,317,962
Water Mill, NY (11976) : $3,300,000
Montecito, CA (93108) : $3,099,348
Old Westbury, NY (11568) : $3,095,000
In fact, of the top 50 most expensive ZIP codes, only 6 are located outside of California and New York regions. 3 are Colorado resort towns — Snowmass (81654), Aspen (81611) and Telluride (81435) — one is in Maryland, one is in Florida, and the last is in Washington State.
Chicago-suburb Kenilworth (60043) is the top-ranked Midwest ZIP code. It placed 86th overall.
The Forbes list may be interesting but, to home buyers or sellers in Lexington , it should not be the final word in home values. Real estate is a local market which means that — even within a given ZIP code — prices can vary based on street and neighborhood.
Look past general data and get specific. Talk to Mark for local market pricing.
November is here with many parts of the country are already feeling the chill. This weekend, a nor’easter dropped up to 20 inches of snow in cities along the eastern seaboard – a reminder that winter is coming.
No matter where you live, though, the seasonal change in temperature throughout Arlington, ma serves as an excellent reminder to reset the blades on your home’s ceiling fans.
Ceiling fans don’t warm or cool air, specifically. Instead, they circulate air which can have the effect of making a room feel warmer in the winter months, and cooler in the summer months.
When it’s cold outside, ceiling fans push warm air down from the ceiling, balancing the heat within a room. This can make a room feel 4-6 degrees warmer. Then, during warmer months, ceiling fans push a room’s cold air back into circulation, which creates a windchill effect, of sorts.
This, too, can change a room’s temperate 4-6 degrees.
The secret to a ceiling fan is in the rotation direction of its blades.
When fan blades rotate clockwise, the fan makes a room feel warmed
When fan blades rotate counter-clockwise, the fan make a room feel cooler.
If your home is without ceiling fans, consider installing one (or more). Ceiling fans are economical and “green”, using the equivalent energy of a 100-watt light bulb, while lowering your home’s energy costs.
Plus, they’re relatively simple to install.
Tutorial videos are available online for the do-it-yourselfers, or just call a qualified electrician for assistance.
Home builders continue to sell homes and work through inventory.
According to data from the Census Bureau, the number of new homes sold in September jumped 6 percent from the month prior, beating analyst expectations. On a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, buyers in Massachusetts and nationwide closed on 313,000 newly-built homes last month.
It’s the highest reading since April and a major reason why the available number of new homes for sale is shrinking.
As compared to September 2010, there are 19% fewer homes for sale nationwide. At today’s sales pace, the complete new home inventory would be “sold out” in 6.2 months – the quickest sell-out pace since the April 2010 federal home buyer tax credit expiration.
It’s no wonder builder confidence is rising.
After averaging 15 through the first 9 months of the year, homebuilder confidence jumped 4 points for October, carried by low mortgage rates and the expectation for a strong winter/spring selling season.
For buyers in Lexington , this could be construed as a housing market-shifting signal. As builder confidence rises, it becomes more difficult to negotiate for upgrades and price reductions on a new home. “Great deals” get scarce.
Furthermore, it’s unlikely that mortgage rates will sustain their current, ultra-low levels into 2012. Rising rates lead to higher housing payments on a month-to-month basis.
If you’re in the market for a newly-built home, in other words, today’s homes may represent your best value of the year.
When we move into a home, we make changes. Appliances get replaced, rooms get painted, and floors get refinished or recarpeted. It part of how we make a home “ours”.
One item we tend to skip, though, is the changing of the doorbell. In most Arlington homes, the existing doorbell is “good enough”.
Well, if you’ve ever had a mind to change your home’s hard-wired doorbell system, the good news is that changing your doorbell is a simple, do-it-yourself project. Whether you want chimes, songs, or the traditional ding-dong, all you need is a screwdriver, some tape, and the new doorbell system.
This 2-minute video from Lowe’s maps it out :
Cut the power to your doorbell from your circuit breaker
Unscrew the doorbell face plate
Replace the face plate with your new doorbell
Locate your in-home receiver and remove the chime system
Replace the chime system with your new system
The video also includes helpful tips such as how to use tape to prevent “losing” wires in your walls, and how to label your wires for faster re-wiring.
Changing a doorbell is a quick, 1-hour project. Use the video’s guidance to make you don’t miss a step.
Headlines in newspapers can be misleading — especially with respect to housing figures. Media coverage of the most recent Housing Starts data serves as an excellent illustration.
Wednesday, the Census Bureau released its September Housing Starts report. In it, the government said that national Housing Starts rose 15 percent in September as compared to August 2011, tallying 658,000 units on a seasonally-adjusted annualized basis.
The September reading is the highest monthly reading since April 2010, the last month of last year’s home buyer tax credit.
The sudden surge in starts is big news for a housing market that has struggled of late, and the press was eager to carry the story. Here is a sampling of some headlines:
U.S. Housing Starts Rise 15%, Hit 17-Month High (MarketWatch)
These headlines are each accurate. However, they’re also misleading.
Yes, Housing Starts did surge in September, but if we remove the “5 or more units” grouping from the Census Bureau data — the catgory that includes apartment buildings and condominium structures — we’re left with Single-Family Housing Starts and Single-Family Housing Starts rose just 1.7 percent last month.
That’s a good number, but hardly a great one. And for home buyers and sellers throughout Arlington and nationwide, it’s the Single-Family Housing Starts that matter most. Individuals like you and I don’t buy entire apartment buildings. Most often, we buy single-family homes. Therefore, that’s the data for which we should watch.
The good news is that media tales work in both directions.
Building Permits dropped 5 percent last month when the volatile 5-unit-or-more-units category was included from the math. Isolating for single-family homes, we find that permits were unchanged.
This is good housing because 82% of homes begin construction within 60 days of permit-issuance, hinting at a steady, late-fall housing market.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, water heating can account for 25% of a home’s energy use. This is a substantial percentage, representing thousands of dollars per year in energy costs.
The good news is there are multiple ways to increase your home’s energy-efficiency with respect to heated water.
The Department of Energy provides a list.
Reduce hot water usage : Fix leaks, install low-flow fixtures, and use high-efficiency clothes washers and dishwashers.
Lower the hot water temperature : 120ºF is ideal. Each 10ºF drop in temperature saves up to 5% and slows corrosion.
Some of the above items are costly to implement, and others are inexpensive. Most can be handled without hiring a plumber, especially those items at the top of the list.
As a Arlington homeowner, take control. Apply these energy-saving, water-heating strategies and you’ll not only save money each month, but you’ll lengthen the useful life of your home’s appliances and plumbing.
Did you remember to handle the most basic safety precaution for your new home?
When people buy homes — in Lexington or wherever — , there’s a tendency to think “Big Picture” on home improvements. Flooring, painting and furniture are common “just-moved-in” purchases, as are cable television and utilities packages.
The most important move-in purchase, though, may also be the least expensive — deadbolts for your doors.
Every home has at least one — and sometimes up to dozen — keyed points of entry. And until you change those locks, there’s no telling just how many people may have access to your home.
For example, your home’s prior owners may have shared house keys with any/all of the following people :
Real estate agents
Neighbors and friends
Parents, brothers and sisters
Home cleaning service
Dog walkers and pet sitters
Those keys will still gain entry into your home until you change the locks. This is why your first act homeowner should be to replace all your home’s keyed entries with new locks and/or deadbolts.
Locks and deadbolts come in a variety of designs and finises, with varying price points. A basic single-cylinder, keyed deadbolt costs less than $15, and a powerful digital-entry, keyless system sells for $200-plus. There are a bevy of models at prices in between, too.
Regardless of which lock system you choose, don’t procrastinate on installation. Ideally, your locks should be changed on the same day of purchase, as close to closing’s completion as possible.
Hardware stores carry most deadbolt varieties and many can be installed with just a screwdriver. For complicated installations, talk to a locksmith.
A good Real Estate Consultant will give you the basics, a fantastic Real Estate Consultant will give you the details. When selling your home, consider the competition!
A home appraisal is an independent opinion of your home’s value, performed by a licensed home appraiser. Appraisals are part of the traditional home purchase process, and lenders require them for most refinances, too.
An estimated 356,000 in-home fires caused more than $7 billion in U.S. residential property damage in 2009, according to data from the 
In the housing market, amenities and location have as much to do with a home’s value as the everyday forces of supply-and-demand. Whereas the latter causes home values to rise and fall over time, the former creates a starting point for said values.
November is here with many parts of the country are already feeling the chill. This weekend, a nor’easter dropped up to 20 inches of snow in cities along the eastern seaboard – a reminder that winter is coming.
Home builders continue to sell homes and work through inventory.
Headlines in newspapers can be misleading — especially with respect to housing figures. Media coverage of the most recent Housing Starts data serves as an excellent illustration.
How much energy is your home wasting on water?
Did you remember to handle the most basic safety precaution for your new home?
Mark Lesses & Carole Falcone