First Impressions Are So Important
Curb appeal is vital. Your lawn should be trimmed, sidewalks swept, front door clean, doorbell working.

Here Comes the Sun
Open the curtains and clean the windows so a prospect can see how bright and cheerful your house is. Dark, dreary rooms are not appealing to buyers

Make it Light and Bright!
Make lighting in your home the “welcome sign” for home buying prospects. Please turn on all the exterior and interior lights, including accent and picture lights.

Avoiding the Crowds
If there are too many people around during a showing, potential buyers will feel like intruders and will want to hurry through your home. Take a nice drive or walk with the kids while your house is being shown.

Shhhhhhh!
When your home is being shown, have all TVs turned off. Turn the stereo off, too or put on soft classical music. Let Anne and your prospective buyers talk calmly without having to yell over any noise.

Having Pets Around the House
Is wonderful except when showing your house. Can the pet go for a drive, too?

This Is Not A Social Call
If you are present, be courteous and friendly, but don’t force conversation with potential buyers. They are there to inspect your house, not to be social.

Nor Is It A Garage Sale
Don’t try to sell potential buyers any of the furnishings that you don’t want to take with you. They haven’t even bought your house yet. It could jeopardize the sale.

Don’t Be A Drip
Fix leaky faucets. Dripping water suggests faulty plumbing and major repair bills. Discolored, rust stained sinks are also warning signs – they should be clean and sparkling.

Little Things Mean A Lot
Loose doorknobs or cabinet pulls, sticking doors and drawers, wobbly hinges, stuck windows – are negative factors. Check and repair all these minor flaws.

Safety First
Keep stairways and corridors absolutely clean. Clutter is unattractive and can cause accidents.

Bathrooms Sell Homes
Make bathrooms sparkle. Clean sinks and toilets and repair any damaged or discolored caulking.

From Top to Bottom
Let prospects see the full value of your basement, attic, garage and closets by removing junk and cartons. Rent a short-term storage space if necessary.

Real estate professionals understand that buying or selling a home is a process in which most people feel especially vulnerable. One of the best reasons to use a realtor is that they are trained to protect the safety and security of their clients.

A real estate agent who lists and promotes the sale of your home is experienced in working with the public and understands the importance of screening every person they invite into your house.

A skilled realtor will not waste time showing your home unless they pre-determine that a buyer is actually qualified to make a solid offer.

By accompanying potential buyers on the home tour, the realtor positions himself or herself in between the seller and the buyer, answering questions and conducting negotiations as the agent of sale. Many realtors are now asking to copy the driver’s license of a buyer before bringing him to your home.

Marketing your home involves exposing it to the scrutiny of relative strangers. Experienced real estate agents often recommend that valuable items such as rare collectibles, statues or paintings be removed from a room before it is photographed for Internet advertising or shown to a prospective buyer.

You certainly want to interview your Realtor because once you are locked in you are stuck (e.g., a six month contract).

Most often the broker who gives you the highest price is not the best Realtor - remember - they are not buying your home so inflating your ego with what they think you want to hear, namely a suggested high price, does nothing for you.

In the trade we call it “buying the listing.”

The agent has you locked in for six months and after thirty days you’ll start to drop your asking price. Eventually you are where you should have been in the beginning so be careful.

Interview your agent and find out what type of marketing they will do for you, how experienced are they, how many homes have they sold?

A proficient and professional agent should:

Assist you in pricing your home properly and be able to provide you with a Certified Marketing appraisal with substantiating data.

Give you a complete marketing proposal and market analysis of your home prior to taking the listing.

Have a full list of references (I have sold over 200 homes in town).

Be a full time professional and have production to substantiate this.

Create marketing items specifically for your home.

Keep you informed on the status of your property weekly.

Negotiate on your behalf throughout the sale process.

Be present and supervise all processes.

Give examples of ads that you can expect your will be seeing on your home.

There are three types of agency relations: Buyer’s Agent, Dual Agent, and Seller’s Agent.

Buyer’s Agent
A buyer’s agent acts exclusively on behalf of the buyer and has fiduciary duties to the buyer, including:

• Reasonable care
• Undivided loyalty
• Confidentiality
• Full disclosure of relevant material information
• Honesty
• Obedience to lawful instruction
• Accountability
• Reasonable skill and care
• Diligence

A buyer’s agent represents your best interests in the home buying process. In the event the buyer becomes interested in a property which is listed with the agent’s firm, the agent will become a dual agent in that transaction.

Dual Agent
Dual agency arises when an agent representing the buyer shows the buyer properties which have also been listed with the firm or those properties where the firm has already agreed to be an agent of the seller. A real estate company can be the agent of both the buyer and seller in a transaction with the knowledge and written consent of both parties.

A dual agent owes both the buyer and seller the following:

• Fair treatment of both parties
• Provide information that helps both parties make educated choices
• Advise and guide
• Provide a comparable market analysis
• Negotiate to mutually agreeable terms and conditions
• Keep confidential each party’s price, terms and personal confidences

Seller’s Agent
A seller’s or listing agent acts on behalf of the seller, and has fiduciary duties to the seller, just as outlined for buyer’s agent above. A seller’s agent may become a dual agent if they are also representing a buyer client on the subject property.

Four major credit bureaus in the US (Equifax, etc.) will be allowed to release credit info, mailing addresses, phone numbers, etc. to ANYONE who requests it.

If you do not want to be included in the release of your personal credit information, you can call 888.567.8688.

Once the message starts, you will want option # 2 (even though option # 1 refers to this email, push # 2) and then option # 2.

Be sure to listen closely, the first option is only for a two-year period.

Make sure you wait until they prompt for the option, which opts you out FOREVER.

You should receive their paperwork in the mail confirming the “opting out” in less than one week after making the call.

The following was passed on to me from a reliable source.

1. The next time you order checks, have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.

2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put “PHOTO ID REQUIRED.”

3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the “For” line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it.

4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary, however, if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in our wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Also carry a photocopy of your passport when traveling either here or abroad. We have all heard horror stories about fraud that is committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for keys (and they all seem to do that now), do not turn the “keys” in. Take them with you and destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the information you gave the hotel, including address and credit card numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that information with no problem whatsoever.

7. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. The key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

8. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one). However, here is what is perhaps most important of all (I never even thought to do this.)

9. Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet and contents being stolen:

1.) Equifax: 800.525.6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 888.397.3742
3.) TransUnion: 800.680.7289
4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 800.269.0271

In 2-3 weeks, cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls - and you will be charged for these calls.

Call this number from your cell phone 888.382.1222 or register on-line at www.donotcall.gov.

It is the national DO NOT CALL list. It only takes a minute of your time and it blocks your number for 5 years.

Please pass this on to everyone you know who may be interested.

I just read an interesting article called Stop the Junk Mail so I’m including some of the tips here.

Call the Credit Reporting Industry Pre-Screening at 888.567.8688 to remove your contact information from the lists for preapproved credit card solicitations of four major credit bureaus. It’s recommended by Consumers Reports.

If you sign up with Direct Marketing Assoc.’s Mail Preference Service in about 3 months you’ll see a decrease in direct-mail marketing.

Register online at www.dmaconsumers.org. They charge to register you online but it’s FREE if you printout the form and mail it in.

Many homeowners leave their home for extended periods while they are on vacation. The FBI recommends taking extra safety precautions during the summer months, when most residential break-ins occur.

Turn off your computer, disconnect it from the Internet and discourage hackers with a password or firewall.

Ask a trusted neighbor to collect your mail, so identity thieves do not find credit card and bank statements in your mailbox.

Have your newspaper subscription held until you return, and leave a vehicle parked in the driveway.
Secure your fine jewelry and important documents in a safe deposit box at the bank instead of in a locked desk drawer at home.

Do not leave valuable objects of art or expensive electronic equipment in view of open windows to tempt burglars.

Lock every door with a deadbolt, and place metal bars or sturdy wooden dowels in the track of sliding glass doors to prevent them from being forced open.

Consider installing an electronic security system that automatically turns lights on and off and opens and closes window coverings at pre-timed intervals.

Taking these precautions will give you peace of mind while you enjoy your vacation.

Lastly, for added peace of mind consider using the services of one of our Ridgefield House Checkers

A fun website to checkout is http://autos.msn.com

Click on gas prices and see where the best places are to buy gas. The site also shows local traffic conditions and other interesting items.