Submitting Creative Bids During the Spring Market Frenzy

It's that time of year again. The spring market is in full swing and crowds of buyers are fighting over their dream house—or at least the closest thing to it, considering this year's nationwide inventory shortage isn't leaving many options. So, what does that mean? For the most part, higher prices, more competition and a whole lot of bids. 

Listings in good condition tend to get multiple offers this time of year, and buyers are putting forth their strongest submissions—cash offers, over-asking, fast closings, no contingencies, etc. But creativity is the name of the game in this year's competitive market. Buyers are inspired to win over the seller's emotional side. Here are the latest home-buying trends for beating out the competition in a swarming spring market:

Love Letters
While they've been around for a while, they're getting a lot more popular, being used by buyers as a last-ditch effort to win via the seller's emotional attachment to the home. Most letters talk about favorite design choices the seller incorporated, plans to raise the family and proclamations that the home is "the one" after a long and tough home search.

Letters usually tell the seller that the buyer is serious and willing to take care of the home. But some sellers may only focus on the numbers and terms. It's a toss-up, but it doesn't hurt to try. 

Buyer-Crafted Videos
These are a little newer, emerging after YouTube's digital push into vlogging, or video blogging. While they can come off as cheesy, they are a little more personal than handwritten letters, because sellers will feel like the potential buyer is talking directly to them.

According to REALTOR® Magazine, a couple recently won a bid on their dream home by making a music video to "Our House," which just so happened to be the song the sellers sang to each other when they first lit the fireplace in their home. The connection instantly won the sellers over, beating out another offer that was $20,000 over the buyers' submission. 

Fresh Home Upgrades for Spring

After a long winter cooped up indoors, spring is the perfect time to start re-imagining your home and making upgrades that create a fresh, welcoming vibe. These project ideas—some big, some small—can help breathe new life into your home so that you're ready to enjoy your favorite rooms to the fullest. 

Air it out. Months of closed windows and doors can make any room feel dusty and stale. As soon as temperatures allow, throw open the windows and skylights to let the fresh air chase away the remnants of winter. It's also the perfect time to launder window treatments and clean area rugs. If you're considering an update to the overall décor, changing out these textiles is an easy and affordable way to create a new look.

Paint to perfection. Over time, once cheerful walls can grow dull. Create a livelier ambiance with a fresh coat of paint, either in the same shade or something completely new. If you're not sure exactly where to start, tackle the project room by room. To choose the right hue, select a favorite item in the room, such as an heirloom throw blanket or a piece of wall art, and consider color shades that complement the item.

Make what's old new again. Sometimes a fresh perspective is as simple as rearranging a room to better fit your needs. Over time, furnishings can become almost an afterthought because they've been in place so long. Try moving things around to create new conversation groupings or to highlight a piece that has been tucked away in the shadows.

Get earth smart. With all of the new growth and hues of green that abound during spring, it's natural to be more mindful of the environment. Earth-friendly upgrades like switching out inefficient lighting or installing low-flow toilets and shower heads can make a sizable difference.

Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group Forecasts Conservative Growth in Housing for 2017

Despite a strong year-end performance by the stock market and a post-election jump in confidence among consumers and businesses, limited information on the new Administration's potential economic policies led to a conservative 2017 growth projection of 2.0 percent, according to the Fannie Mae Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group's January 2017 Economic and Housing Outlook.

Improved consumer spending in the third quarter drove a slight upward revision from the prior forecast; moreover, a friendly labor market and rising household wealth should continue to support consumers. Business fixed investment is expected to pick up - particularly in the equipment space - as the drag from declining oil prices faded and should add to 2017 growth. Additionally, government spending and inventory investment are expected to add to growth this year, while the dollar should continue to weigh heavily on net exports. Mortgage rates are predicted to rise gradually in the coming year, ultimately reaching a fourth quarter average of 4.3 percent. There is risk that rates could rise faster and higher than foretasted, but the impact on housing could be offset by strengthened income growth.

"Policy changes under the new Administration - in its nature, sequencing, and magnitude - will determine the direction of economic growth in 2017," says Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan. "Incoming data suggest improving consumer spending, diminished labor market slack, and advancements in wages, but until we can more clearly read the political tea leaves, it's difficult to say whether this late-cycle expansion will continue into its eighth year.” 

Spring-Cleaning Time! 6 Things You Never Clean but Really Should.

It’s spring—that time of year when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love, pollen takes over the Earth, and winter coats get mothballed for another year. It’s time to live again! But it’s also supposed to be the time you pull on the rubber gloves and get to scrubbing, dusting, washing, and polishing so your home looks sparkling clean for the upcoming warmer months.

And yet there are some particularly grimy areas even the most diligent among us tend to avoid. But should we?

“When we do get around to spring-cleaning, chances are the first places we tackle are those that we—or our guests—will see,” says Cheryl Reed from Angie’s List. “But if it’s up high, down low, or behind something, it may never see your scrub brush.”

That’s all the more reason to tackle these oft-ignored areas today! Here are the six most neglected items for spring-cleaning.

1. Refrigerator coils

Did you even know your fridge has coils you’ve gotta clean? Well, it does. When dust and dirt cover said coils, your fridge has to work harder to cool food—and that can shorten this appliance’s life span.

You can find your refrigerator coils either at the bottom or behind the machine. Vacuum them with a crevice or upholstery tool. Then push a duster or refrigerator coil brush (about $5)  between the coils to grab the rest of the pet hair and dust that stubbornly cling to the coils; position your vacuum under the brush to catch falling debris. Here’s more on how to clean refrigerator coils.

2. Ceiling fans

Ceiling fan blades are landing strips for dust and allergens, which the fan spreads throughout the room.

To grab the dust, climb a ladder and wipe the blades with a microfiber cloth. Or, slip an old pillowcase over the blades and grab the gunk as you pull it off. Shake the case outside so dust doesn’t fly all over, or throw the case in the laundry. You can also buy curved duster attachments made especially for ceiling fans for about $10.

While you’re on the ladder, reverse the blade direction so they’ll move clockwise and push air straight down, creating a cooling breeze and relief from warm weather.

3. Baseboards

OK, it’s not the sexiest home cleaning task (not quite up there with refrigerator coils, for example), but cleaning scuffed and dusty baseboards goes a long way toward freshening up your home. You can get rid of scuff marks by wiping them with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser or cleaning wipes. Vacuum with an upholstery attachment to get rid of dust. For a really deep clean, run a Q-tip over baseboard tops and ridges to remove dust collecting there.

4. Pillows

Sure, you clean pillowcases every week when you strip the bed. But once or twice a year, you should also wash the pillows, which absorb your sweat, dead skin cells, and dust mites. Gross, right?

Check and follow care labels for your particular pillow. You can wash most synthetic pillows in your machine on a short, gentle, lukewarm cycle. For down- or feather-filled pillows, wash in a basin with a little detergent. Knead the pillow, drain the basin, then wrap the pillow in a towel.

To remove the rest of the water, place pillows in the washer on the spin cycle. Then pop into your dryer on moderate heat for about an hour. Add a couple of tennis balls to fluff up the pillows during drying.

5. Shower heads

Need to remove mineral buildup from stainless-steel shower heads? Turn to white vinegar, says Glenn Gallas, vice president of operations for Mr. Rooter Plumbing based in Waco, TX.

Fill a small plastic bag with distilled white vinegar, and attach it with a rubber band over the shower head. Let the vinegar work its magic for an hour or two until the scale dissolves; then scrub the residue away with a toothbrush.

If you have a brass or bronze shower head, which are more delicate, rub away scale with a soft cloth and warm water.

Clean a shower head with white vinegar in a plastic bag.

6. The insides of your appliances

The appliances that clean your dishes and clothes can get quite gunky over time. You most likely are painfully aware of this. Food and soap scum build up along the bottom and sides of your dishwasher, and dirt and detergent collect in the drum and along the top of your clothes washer. Here’s how to get them clean.

• Dishwasher: Place distilled white vinegar in a shallow bowl on the top rack of your empty dishwasher, and run a hot water cycle. If the machine still smells funky, sprinkle baking soda on the bottom and run the machine through a short, hot cycle.
  
• Washer: To kill any mold in your washer, add a cup of bleach to the bleach dispenser and run the empty machine through the longest, hottest cycle available. Scrub any removable parts, and use a toothbrush to clean the gunk out of nooks and crannies. Open the lid, and let air dry.
• Dryer: Vacuum the drum and lint screen. If you use dryer sheets, soak and scrub the screen to remove residue. Unplug the machine, remove the exhaust hose, and pull out lint you can reach with your finger, vacuum hose, or flexible dryer brush. Or you can blow out debris with a leaf blower.

Lisa Kaplan Gordon is an award-winning freelancer who's written about real estate and home improvement for realtor.com, Yahoo, AOL

The Home Office Is Disappearing—What's Taking Its Place?

I work from home. Not a coffee shop, not a co-working space with free microbrew. I work in a dedicated, IRS-approved workspace with the requisite Ikea desk and drawer of supplies I never use (I mean, who staples anymore?).

And yet, on the days when my husband telecommutes, he sprawls out on the living room couch, laptop perched on his stomach. And an informal poll of others who work from home shows they do so in all sorts of unconventional places, from kitchen tables to beds and any other nook or cranny so long as it’s not an actual office.

How technology killed the home office

Recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 24% of employed people did some or all of their work at home.

“But even with the move to more work-from-home situations, few people seek a traditional study,” says Glenn S. Phillips of Lake Homes Realty.

Chalk this up to shrinking square footage (U.S. Census data show the median square footage of a single-family home fell 73 square feet this year) and the rise of open floor plans which blur defined spaces. Phillips also notes that in days of yore, people needed a whole lot of stuff to work: not only staplers, but also physical reference material, files, landline phones, and desktop computers hooked to modems to access the internet. Remember those days?

Now, all you need to work is a laptop and Wi-Fi, which can exist pretty much anywhere. So, it’s no wonder today’s WFH folks roam.

Another reason workers shun formal offices? Doors. People I interviewed described feeling “trapped,” “tucked away,” and “stuck” when in a home office.

Sarah Tippett, editor of Homeschool Base, says of her old dedicated home office, “I never wanted to go in there!” The Asheville, NC, resident adds, “I really think my creativity gates open up when I’m not caged in.”

So where do people work, then? The options are endless, from easy chairs to dining tables and beyond. It all depends on your home’s layout and where opportunities lie.

When Marcia Noyes, director of health care technology company Communication for Catalyze, bought a new cottage in New Braunfels, TX, the small third bedroom was already an office. But she found herself drawn to work on her porches instead, explaining, “I love going outside and feeling like I’m part of the rest of the world.”

Meanwhile, Jessi Carr, managing editor of the website 365 Business Tips in San Diego, also has a designated home office, but her go-to work spot is the kitchen island.

“Not only is it the perfect height to be a substitute standing desk, there’s also enough counter space for any extra papers,” she says. “The change in location helps break me out of any problems that I may have run into.”

Challenges of the roving worker

But let’s face it, typing on a laptop on your couch all day can be just as uncomfortable as sitting at a desk—and it could wreak havoc on your back. Working in bed? Even worse.

Given the ergonomic perils of working from home, people who do so should be particularly aware of any aches and pains that can develop. If you’re working in an armchair, use a footstool to elevate your legs and ease pressure in your lower back. And in bed, use a TV tray to support your laptop, like Jessalyn Duncan, vice president of Benediction Web Consulting in Houston. A keyboard that’s too high can put stress on your wrists; use the tray to keep your laptop on the same level as your forearms.

Storage is another challenge. So what should you do with any of those papers that haven’t quite become digital?

Jamie Novak, expert organizer and author of “Keep This Toss That,” suggests using an ottoman for storage: “The person can sit in a comfy spot and have everything they need right there.”

Finally, there’s the question of concentration. Being where the action is frees the trapped worker. But a central location—with amped-up noise and activity—can also present challenges for even the most agile multitasker. For this reason, while Duncan has a favorite comfy chair in the media room where she can power through the bulk of her work with the TV on, she heads to the TV-free living room when it’s crunch time.

What about the home office tax write-off?

People who work from home may also be tempted to take their home office tax deduction. The good news is, the IRS does not require a home office to be its own room; it can just be a corner you’ve carved out of a bigger space.

But here’s the bad news: Your “office” does need to be used exclusively for business. So, your kitchen table where you eat, the bed where you sleep, or living room couch where you watch TV won’t count. But hey, if that’s where you work best, then it will obviously pay off in the long run!

Margaret Heidenry is a writer living in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, and Boston Magazine.

7 Important Things Home Sellers Often Forget to Do

When you’re selling your home there’s so much to do: find a Realtor®, do touch-ups, get that balky air conditioner fixed, look into staging… It’s no wonder that sometimes things fall between the cracks. Big things. (We’re not pointing fingers, promise!) Our arsenal of experts—aka real estate agents who have worked with many home sellers—identify the to-do’s that sellers typically overlook. We promise you, these tasks are well worth the time it will take to complete them (which isn’t very long at all).

Heed this sound advice, and there’s a good chance selling your house won’t be nearly as stressful as everyone tells you it is.

To-do No. 1: Google your address

Not all sellers scour the Internet to find out what’s being said about their property, but they should. Nearly all buyers—90%—search online during their hunt for a home, according to the National Association of Realtors. You should be aware of what your online listing looks like, since it will influence the kinds of concerns buyers will have, says Avery Boyce, a Realtor with Compass Real Estate in Washington, D.C.

“Is the site’s estimated value very different from your asking price? It might be because tax records have the wrong information about the number of bedrooms or bathrooms your house has, and this is easily fixed,” Boyce says. Consider this too: Google Maps’ street view of your property may not show improvements that you’ve made, so you’ll want to be sure to include those updates in your listing.

To-do No. 2: Account for improvements and issues

“If you’ve owned your home for a while, make a list of all the problems you’ve solved while you’ve lived there,” says Boyce. This could include chimney fires, water damage, or a flood in the basement. Whether you solved the problem or not, you should disclose this information to the buyer so you don’t wind up in a lawsuit after the sale. Disclosing “invisible improvements” that you’ve made, like re-grading or adding a French drain system, can also be a great source of comfort for buyers, adds Boyce.

“The same goes for sewer lines or tanks, radon remediation, or leaky skylights.”

To-do No. 3: Check your real estate agent’s references

An agent’s bad behavior or incompetence could cost you time, money, and peace of mind, so it’s well worth taking extra steps to find the best real estate agent for you. Ask friends for recommendations.

Check that the people you’re considering have a current real estate license—with no complaints filed against them. Meet with the agent and reach out to a few of their references directly.

“Real estate agents should be happy to provide a number of references for a new client to call,” says Marianne Leonard Cashman a Realtor with William Raveis Real Estate in Andover, MA. As far as talking to your friends about a real estate agent recommendation, here are some questions Cashman suggests asking:

• Did you have confidence in your real estate agent?
• Do you think he/she had good knowledge of the local market?
• Did your agent communicate well and keep you informed during the entire transaction?
• Do you think that he/she negotiated well on your behalf?
• Did your agent have good vendors who could assist you?
• Did your agent returned calls/emails in a timely fashion?
• Would you recommend this person? Why? (Or why not?)

To-do No. 4: Insist on social media marketing

You staged your home beautifully, picked a competitive price, and listed the property, but there’s something else you’ll need to prepare before you’re fully ready to sell—a social media marketing plan. Video tours, floor plans, and photo galleries promoted on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are must-dos, advises Cashman.

“You want to make sure that your agent is using all avenues to attract the right buyer for your home,” she explains. “Make sure your home has a presence on your agent’s website, their agency’s website, and is promoted on various sites that will market the home and give information about open houses.”

To-do No. 5: Make sure the doorbell rings

Ah, attention to detail. It’s those little cosmetic repairs that could cost you your home sale. If buyers see that you can’t even be bothered to repair a busted doorbell, they’re automatically going to think about what else may need fixing and view the home negatively.

“First impressions make all the difference,” says Cashman. “A well-kept home, starting with the view from the curb, gives the perception that the seller has great pride in the home and has taken good care of it—which translates into less energy and costs for the buyer as they prepare to move in.”

To-do No. 6: Clean inside everything

Storage is a huge selling point for homes. So be warned: Buyers are going to poke around inside closets, drawers, cabinets, ovens, refrigerators, and even the dishwasher, whether they’re cleaned or not—so you’d better make sure they are clean.

“Spending the money on a service to deep-clean your home will come back to you at least 10 times in your sales price,” says Boyce. Even if you’ve swept up and scrubbed all surfaces to a shine, you’re not done until dust, crumbs, and creepy crawlies are cleaned out from within the small spaces too.

To-do No. 7: Clarify which items are not included

You don’t want a buyer to fall in love with your house because of the custom window treatments and then rescind their offer when they find out the curtains aren’t for sale.

“The law says that anything bolted to the wall or ceiling goes to the buyer unless specifically excluded in the contract,” says Boyce. “If you want to take your flat-screen TV, chandelier, or custom pot rack, be sure to label it as soon as the house goes on the market, so that buyers don’t bank on owning that item and wind up disappointed.”

Jennifer O’Neill is a Boston-area writer and former staffer at Allure, SELF, Us Weekly, and Yahoo Parenting.

Forget the Snow: Spring Has Sprung in the Nation's Housing Markets:

Much of the country is looking at one more very big bite of winter before spring officially begins, but for the residential real estate market, spring is already underway—and new home buyers are sprouting everywhere.

Job creation so far this year is 30% stronger than in the same period last year. Unemployment is close to a low of more than nine years. Wages and income are also starting to pick up to growth levels we haven’t seen since 2009.

And with more money in their bank accounts, consumers are feeling a boost in confidence that leads to big purchases … like homes! This year’s economic growth gives them another reason to buy sooner rather than later, because stronger economic growth also means higher interest rates.

January and February saw rates in line with what we saw at the end of 2016. But in the last two weeks, we’ve seen the average rate for a 30-year conforming mortgage increase by almost a quarter of a point. That’s because the market is expecting the Federal Reserve to raise short-term rates when the board of governors meets this week.

Mortgage rates will likely stay close to this level until we hear more about additional rate increases later this year. The expectation is for three increases this year. If economic data continue to show growth in inflation and wages, those three increases could actually become four.

This means that rates will continue to rise—we’re more likely to see movement of 10-25 basis points in one- to two-week spurts, as new data and new comments from the Fed indicate rate policy changes are imminent.  Those spurts will likely be followed by weeks with little change in rates.

The upside of higher rates is that it is getting easier to get a mortgage. The most widely followed measure of mortgage credit access from the Mortgage Bankers Association indicates that access has expanded 6.5% since September.

Arguably the biggest challenge to buyers this spring will be simply finding a home to buy and getting it successfully under contract. That’s because the supply of homes for sale is at an all-time low, and yet demand is strong and getting stronger.

We started the year with the lowest inventory of homes available for sale that we’ve ever seen on realtor.com. While we did see inventory grow 2% in February, total inventory was down 11% over last year.

Low inventory and strong supply is leading to inventory moving faster and faster as measured by median days on market. The median number of days on market in February was 90 days, six days less than last year. We also saw 27% of all listings selling in less than 30 days. Last year, we saw that happen in mid- to late March, so this year’s timetable is about three weeks ahead.

The early birds who decided to buy in the winter faced less competition and enjoyed lower rates than we are seeing now. It gets more expensive and more competitive going forward, but the early(ish) buyer, at this point, is still likely to come out on top, when you consider that prices and rates are likely to be much higher later in the year.

Jonathan Smoke is the chief economist of realtor.com, where he analyzes real estate data and trends to develop market insights for the consumer.