I received this bathroom remodeling question from a client and thought you might be wondering the same thing.

Dear Linda,

I’m not ready to move anytime soon but when I do, you will be the listing agent so I figure I better ask your opinion now. We are remodeling our master bath. We’ve put down tile floors, a marble shower, new vanities, new mirrors, new light fixtures…..but we took out the garden tub we never use and don’t want to replace it. We were thinking a window bench that lifted up for storage or something like that. Is that going to kill our resale? Read the rest of this entry

I had a gentleman who lives in another state contact me on my Raleigh Real Estate website about listing his 92 year old mother’s home. He said she had gotten ill over Christmas and could no longer live alone. He needed to find a senior continuing care facility in the Greater Raleigh area for her to move too because all of the family lived too far away to take care of her long distance. The long term care facilites were very expensive and he needed to know what the house was worth. I met with his mom, who was the sweetest thing in the world and didn’t look 92. I hope to be so lucky. I gave him a price and he was pleased then he tried to take the hardest step and here was our dialog:

Hi Linda,

I have talked to my mother and she is so indecisive I am not sure how to push her forward at this point. She doesn’t feel that she knows where to go and doesn’t know how to go about making the decision. She feels that she needs to make a decision on where to go before going forward. I try to provide help but she is very hard to deal with. She needs to be gone from that house!

Bill   Read the rest of this entry

This week my real estate office has been very busy with several out of state families who are relocating to our Greater Raleigh area.  One of the neat things about having a large real estate team is that  we all work together sharing our knowledge and experience to best meet the needs of our clients.  When families relocate to the Triangle sometimes their needs are more complexed than just which Raleigh area home or neighborhood they want to live in. They need to know where to find the best doctors, playgrounds and daycare options just to name a few.    Many of our Team members have children and have relocated themselves so they are a great resource for families. We know that Moms and Dads have so many things to take care of in a move and my Team loves to all pitch in to help relocating families in their transition .  Here are some tips you may want to know or share with someone relocating with children.

A Few Quick Moving Tips For Raleigh Area Families:  Read the rest of this entry

One thing I get asked alot by home sellers in my listing appointments is what they need to do to get their home sold.  Many people know to go ahead and pack away unneeded items, repaint the walls into neutral colors and others hire a professional home stager.  Staging has been the huge buzzword with Raleigh Home Sellers ever since HGTV hit the air waves. Triangle Real Estate Agents  know that to get a home sold in a Buyers Market that a well-staged home has to be the rule rather than the exception. When you hear the word staging our minds image decluttering and furniture placement. However, with 10 houses for every one Raleigh home buyer that is not enough. “Refreshing” is the new trend for home selling success. Read the rest of this entry

Yesterday I called one of my clients and she was in an absolute panic. She had lost her wallet and was on the phone trying to cancel all of her credit cards. If this has ever happened to you then you know the fear, stress and dread she was feeling.

Here is a quick tip that will help ease your mind and take some of the work and panic out of the process.

Go to your nearest copy machine today. Open up your wallet and copy the front and back side of everything in it. Put the copies in a safe place such as a locked file cabinet or safety deposit box. If you lose your wallet it won’t be fun but, you will be able to protect yourself quickly and rebuild the contents without losing sleep over what you may have forgotten.

If your wallet or purse is stolen or lost for an added measure of protection you can also do the following:

1. File a police report in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc were lost or stolen. This prove to the credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first stip toward an investigation if there is one.

2. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizatons to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the social security fraud line. Placing this alert means all creditors will have to contact you before they can authorize new credit.

a. Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

b. Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

c. Tran Union: 1-800-680-7289

d. Social Security Administration fraud line: 1-800-269-0271

I hope this never happens to you but, sooner or later it probably will. I have had a car stolen with my purse in it and my car broken into on vacation and my purse was stolen out of it. I’ve learned the hard way to  never leave my purse in the car and I have a copy of my wallets content locked in a safe place just in case I drive off from a gas station pump and leave my wallet on top of the car like one of my employees did last week.

Linda

Many people are asking me about what they need to do to refinance their home.  Today I thought I would share a few things to think about before you make the decision to talk with a mortgage lender about refinancing your home.

How to Start the Refinancing Process

To refinance your home in Raleigh, Cary or anywhere in the Triangle area  you will have to reapply for the mortgage just like any new home buyer would. You will have to demonstrate solid credit history, prove to the mortgage company that you still have adequate income to quaify for the lower payment by providing tax returns, pay stubs and bank statements. I know this doesn’t make a lot of sense if you have been paying your mortgage on time and are refinancing your Raleigh home to have an even lower monthly obligation but, never the less, your have to provide documents and be approved all over again.

The Next Step in Refinancing:  The Appraisal

Last week during a listing appointment at my office I met with someone who tried to refinance her home in order to lower her monthly mortgage payments.  Like many people she had a first and second mortgage and contacted a local lender thinking she would not any problem refinancing.   However, her home did not appraise for what she owed.   She was stuck unfortunately in a cycle many homeowners in our Raleigh area are facing.

In order to refinance North Carolina homes  have to be professionally appraised at a high enough value to provide the lender with adequate security.  This is where many Raleigh homeowner’s are hitting a brick wall on refinancing. Appraisal guidelines have signifacantly tightened and Raleigh real estate has not gained value the past 24 months. This is keeping many home owners from being able to save money each month by taking advantage of a historical opportunity  of low interest rates.

To get an idea of your real estate value in the Raleigh, Wake County area visit www.Wakegov.com Type in your address and a search of recent home sales around your address will be displayed. You can also experiment with www.zillow.com  to get a zestimate. However, the best way to determine your Raleigh real estate value is to call me or a professional appraiser.

I will be happy to refer you to several good local appraisers anytime.  We have several listed in our Triangle Business Directory and they are people you can trust.

Linda

My team meets every Tuesday to keep our skills sharp in this ever changing Raleigh real estate market. Each department gives an update on  current business, we discuss new listings coming to the market, what our current home buyers are looking for, and then we train on different topics.  Sometimes the topics are new rules and form changes from the Real Estate Commission. Other training topics are economic, mortgage and appraisal issues affecting the Raleigh, Cary and Triangle market. Last week we focused on practical applications that can help us be more efficient by managing our time better. Each Team member started with making a list of the  5 worst time wasters and their 5 best time saving ideas.  I thought I would share some of our team’s top tips with you:

The Linda Craft & Team’s Top Time Saver Tips:

1. If you are working on a project or in an appointment let incoming calls go to voicemail until you complete the task.  This will help you stay focused and be proactive instead of reactive.
2. Check Voice Mail at regular times during the day, not after every call. It takes time to dial into voice mail so pick up several messages with one call.
3. Follow a schedule and stick to it. Everything is important but, very few things are urgent.  Plan your day the night before and protect your schedule.
4. Text Someone verses Calling Them.  This can save up to five minutes of idle conversation and alot of voice mail tag.
5. Make your coffee the night before and schedule it to brew the next morning when you get up.
6. Use a Free Dry Cleaners Pick Up Service.   This will save you alot of time driving around town or standing in line.
7. Use a Grocery Shopping Service.   Shop Online and schedule your groceries to be brought to your car in the store parking lot for a cheap as $5.95 a trip. It also protects you from impulse buying.
8. Clean out your inbox daily by one of these three actions; delte, file or answer and delete.
9. Schedule your shampoo and hair cuts first thing in the morning so you are not doing your hair twice in one day.
10. Close Your Office Door and Concentrate.  People popping in with Chit Chat can waste 1/3 of your day.

Do you have more tips you can share with us?   We would love to hear from you.

I hope that you have a great Monday-

Linda