5 Front Yard Landscaping Tips That Will Wow Buyers

*Article from Realty Times: by Andrea Davis, HomeAdvisor on Thursday, 12 June 2014*

Your front yard is the red carpet inviting buyers into the beauty that is your home. If it's rugged, messy and unkempt, buyers will take one look and then keep on driving to the next property on their list. Don't let that happen by making your front yard luscious and as amazing as the inside of your home.
What areas should you focus on in your front yard? Where do you start? To help you break down the revitalization of your front yard, here are the steps you should take:

1. Cut the grass.
Buyers don't want to trudge through high grass as though they were in the Amazon or on a safari in Africa. This means the lawn mower needs to be out at least once a week if not every other week, keeping it trimmed and maintained. It also needs to be green so it looks alive and lush. Water so the sun doesn't dry out the lawn and turn it yellow or brown. A professional landscaper can help maintain a balance of trimming and growth so it looks just right for buyers.

2. Plant more shade trees.
One or two trees in the front yard are all right, but if you want to really add some shade, plant more. Shade trees will detract from the glare of the sun, and it can help decrease the temperature of the house if they're placed close to windows. It also will help keep the lawn green with moisture. You can plant trees that are shorter and will grow by the time the new owner buys the home, but be sure they're strong and can handle the climate.

3. Install outdoor lighting.
Outdoor lighting is a good way to both illuminate the house at night and accent parts of your yard. Depending on where you install the lights, your house will look very appealing at night to those buyers who might not have time to do their shopping during the day. Outdoor lighting also helps to illuminate a path like a sidewalk to get from the curb to your front door for easier navigation. It helps to accent the beauty of your landscaping which all together increases the beauty of your home.

4. Consider adding flowers for more color.
If your front yard has a lot of greenery, you should increase the yard appeal by adding more colors. Flowers are a great and simple way to do this, as well as shrubbery with different blooms. Perennials are the best for this because they last for more than a year, which means less maintenance for the seller and the new homeowner. They come in a wide variety of colors and types so the yard can be decorated with any number of them while still requiring less maintenance.

5. Keep everything clean!
In addition to keeping the lawn trimmed, everything else should be clean. Anywhere that can build up dirt or grime - siding, porch, front door, driveway - should be cleaned on a regular basis. Buyers don't want to see a lot of dirt and mess, and it will detract from them wanting to walk into the house. So take a broom, a power washer and a few hours on the weekend to keep everything sparkling clean. Don't have a power washer? A professional power washing service can cost as little as $293.

Do Your Finances Meet the 28/36 Rule?

If you're considering buying a home, especially as a first-time buyer, it's important to take a close look at your finances before you start shopping.

Start with the 28/36 rule. Many lenders use it to determine credit eligibility.

The "28" refers to the percentage of your gross monthly household income that should be allocated for housing costs each month, including principal, interest, taxes and insurance. The "36" represents the total debt that you carry. It shouldn't exceed 36 percent of your total income.

As long as your monthly debt – like car, student loan and credit card payments – doesn't exceed the 36 percent, you're probably in good shape to qualify for the loan amount that meets your "28" calculation.

There's a sample 28/36 calculation in the RE/MAX Home Buying Guide. Check it out. The guide is a great reference.

*Article from the RE/MAX Housing Blog*

How much longer will mortgage rates stay low?

Here is an interesting article from Yahoo! Homes about the longevity of low mortgage rates:

By Terence Loose                           

             

Do you hear talk of "historically low interest rates" and "best time to refinance in decades" but aren't sure how to put it all into perspective?

Fortunately, we did a little research and summarized what you need to know about today's mortgage rates, and more importantly, how these low rates affect refinancing or buying a home.

So read on for some facts on what to expect with rates in the future, what it means for today's real estate market, and a look-back on where rates have been in the past.

What the Future Holds for Interest Rates

If you're like most people, you probably look forward more than back. So you're likely wondering what the future holds in terms of interest rates.

As of February 28, 2013, interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage were at 3.51 percent, according to Freddie Mac. The lowest they've hit historically was 3.38 in December 2012. So we can say that a rate of 3.51 percent isn't so shabby.

Wondering why are the rates so low nowadays? Duffy says that recent moves by the Federal Reserve have held interest rates in check. The government has been artificially suppressing interest rates by essentially buying mortgage loans from the banks - thereby freeing up more money for lenders to then give to borrowers. However, he says government involvement will not last forever, and the rates will start to climb.
In fact, Duffy predicts that "[For] most of 2013, we'll see relatively low interest rates. Maybe not as low as we have today, but certainly in the four percent range, give or take a quarter point."
To see how Duffy's predictions measure up against other rate forecasts out there, we checked the mortgage interest rate projections made by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the national organization representing the real estate finance industry. And their predictions size up to Duffy's.
According to the MBA, by the end of 2013, the interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage will be at 4.4 percent. And by the end of 2014, they see the rate at 4.6 percent.
That doesn't sound like much, you might say, but if you're financing hundreds of thousands of dollars over 30 years, that interest can really add up. For instance, on a $400,000 fixed-rate mortgage, a mere two-tenths of a percent (the difference between an interest rate of 4.0 and 4.2 percent, for example) costs you an extra $16,400 over the life of the loan.
[Thinking about refinancing to a lower interest rate? Click to compare rates from lenders now.]

The Effect of Low Interest Rates

With rates at all-time lows, Duffy says there has been an increase in refinancing and home buying.
"There has been a lot of refinancing. In fact, I've had a few clients who have refinanced a couple times over. When rates went from the fives to the fours, they refinanced, and when rates went from the fours to the low threes they refinanced again. It's making their cost of homeownership that much lower," says Duffy.
What's more, the National Association of Realtors' Housing Affordability Index hit an all-time high in the first quarter of 2012, which means that home ownership was at its most affordable since they began the index in 1970. The index is a number based on the relationship between median family income, median home price, and the average mortgage interest rate.
 "In addition to a lot of refinancing, I'm seeing an uptick in new homebuyers. I think the confidence is coming back for buying homes. And based on the index number alone, it's a great time to buy," Duffy says.

A Historical Look at Interest Rates

So we now know that interest rates are still at historical lows. But haven't they been that way for a long time? Not really. Consider the fact that the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage just two years ago - for the month of January 2011 - was 5.005 percent, according to Informa, a leading financial industry information provider.

For the same loan in October of 1981, the average interest rate was 18.45 percent, according to information from the Federal Reserve System, which oversees national monetary policy.
No, that was not a typo: 18.45 percent. So how does today's 3.5 percent rate look now?
"These rates right now are just phenomenal. I mean who would ever think you could get a 15-year rate in the high two's or a 30-year rate in the three's? When I first bought my house in 1979 it was 16.75 percent," says Don Frommeyer, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), the nation's sole trade organization of mortgage professionals.
As you can see, interest rates have definitely shifted throughout the years.

So, just for fun, let's evaluate the difference between the cost of borrowing money today, opposed to in 1981, shall we? We'll compare a 30-year, $300,000 fixed-rate mortgage with a 1981 rate of 18.45 percent to one with a February 2013 rate of 3.51.*

	1981 Mortgage	2013 Mortgage
Loan Amount:	$300,000	$300,000
Interest Rate:	18.45 percent	3.51 percent
Monthly Payment:	$4,631.56	$1,348.81
Interest Over Life of Loan:	$1,367,362.81	$185,571.33

Again, those are not typos. The interest on a $300,000 mortgage in 1981 would be over one million dollars - in fact, $1,181,791.48 more than today's loan. And the monthly payment? Almost four times as much. Makes you wonder why we didn't all just live in caves back then.

*According to the "Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey®" by Freddie Mac, an institution established by Congress in 1970 to provide affordability to the nation's residential mortgage markets, as of February 28, 2013, the interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.51 percent while the interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 2.76 percent.

What Can You Actually Afford?

Looking for a property locally or internationally?

RE/MAX has a great new tool known as the Global Property Search tool, or GPS for short. All you do is input your search area, currency, minimum and maximum price, and what type of property you are looking for. GPS shows you what you can afford and where you can afford it!

Here is the link to GPS: http://global.remax.com/