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Where Did All This Stuff Come From…?

Whether or not you’re planning to sell your house any time soon, it never hurts to get things in order.  Even the tidiest homeowners are amazed by how quickly houses can become inundated by the clutter and items they accumulate.
Here are some easy tips toward consistently maintaining order and balance in your home, and ensuring that come sale time you don’t find yourself waging the war against disorder for the first time.

You Need Discipline and a Game Plan

• Instead of dabbling and making gradual improvements here and there throughout the home, focus your efforts on one room at a time.  Don’t move onto another room until the task at hand has been thoroughly completed.
• Force yourself to stay disciplined, and adopt the “in and out” approach.  For every new item you add to a room, remove an older one.
• If you have kids, make the cleaning process fun for them (yes, it is possible).  Whether it’s by giving them incentives to keep their rooms tidy and their personal belongings out of public spaces, or showing them how rewarding the result can be give them a tangible reason(reward, privilege, bribe)  to observe these rules even when they haven’t been reminded to.
• Have a vision of what the room SHOULD look like before you tackle it.
• Use hangers to sort the clothes you wear the most from the ones you break out only on special occasions.  Needless to say, garments that are out of season should be kept separately (a sealed, moth-proof rack for your hangers can be a crucial investment for your basement/attic space).
• When considering whether or not to retire an item, force yourself to decide whether you really, REALLY need it.  If you have a hard time deciding, you know what to do.
• Treat your kitchen as a sacred area: the real estate that includes your stove, sink, refrigerator and countertops should be occupied by useful items only.

When it comes time to sell your house fast, you will be more than rewarded for the work you have done on the front end. Of course, if you do decide to sell your house in the Maryland, Washington DC or Virginia area, give us a call. We can help.

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about short sales in the past few months- chances are you know someone who’s been through the process. And if you’ve been hit as hard by the current recession as many have been and have a home you’re having trouble affording, you may be considering a short sale as a viable option.

What’s a Short Sale?

Let’s assume you understand the basics of the concept, and are familiar with the broad strokes: basically, a short sale is what occurs when a lender agrees to accept less than the amount owed against a home because there is no longer enough equity to sell and pay all costs of sale.  Put simply, if your payments are in arrears and it’s looking more and more like the lender won’t be able to recoup the full cost of the home, a short sale may be their best way of their getting something rather than nothing.

It Isn’t Perfect, But…

There’s no question that a short sale is far from an ideal outcome for anyone who owns a home.  If you find yourself in dire straits with either foreclosure or a short sale looming as your only two options, which do you choose?  Consider which does more damage to your credit?  Opinions on this topic vary, but the bottom line is, they both do a lot of harm.  Foreclosure typically knocks between 200 and 300 points off your score, while short sales have been known to trim your credit rating by anywhere from 100 to 300 points.  Bottom line: your credit will suffer either way, although you have a slightly better chance of losing less money and credit rating if you work with a real estate agent and negotiate a short sale.

It’s a Way to Protect Your Credit Rating.

We understand how hard it is for anyone to be facing these possibilities; if you’d like to know more about this process or have any other real estate questions answered, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Express Realty Services has a fully-staffed short sale department; we can help you work through every facet of your short-sale negotiation.

There’s a new F-word these days, and it isn’t the one you’re thinking of.  “Foreclosure” is the term those of us struggling to hold onto homes hate to hear. The worst-case scenario many people envision when they consider the effects of the current recession on their lives.  You’ve heard the horror stories: a major hit to your credit score (usually somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-300 points), and a 7-year impact on your credit report.

Important Steps to Avoid Foreclosure at All Costs

Let’s start by talking over a few ways to avoid having this happen to you.  We already wrote a bit about short sales, and their effect on your rating. Here are some other ways you can try to keep the possibility of foreclosure from becoming a reality.  The first and most basic is to keep in touch with your lender.  No one likes hearing bad news, and it can be easier to let unopened bills and late notices pile up in your trash than deal with the reality of your situation.  If you find yourself falling behind on your payments, contact your lender and discuss the possibility of modifying your loan (and negotiating one with a lower interest rate, for example).  Occasionally, you can ask for forbearance, a period during which the lender agrees to let you temporarily stop making payments until you have your situation sorted out.
Suppose you decide instead to move, most likely into a more affordable home or a rented apartment.  In the event that the amount of your mortgage exceeds the value of the house, consider a short sale.  Sometimes, you can simply turn your home over to the lender and cancel your remaining debt (a process called a “deed in lieu of foreclosure”), but like all of your other options if you’re at this critical stage, think it over carefully.

Whatever You Do, Act Now—Your Situation Won’t Fix Itself

Whatever your situation or plan for the future, we wish you the best of luck, and are always here to take any and all questions you may have.