Monday, April 26, 2010

8 Tips for Adding Curb Appeal and Value to Your Home

Article From HouseLogic.com, By: Pat Curry
Appraisers and real estate agents offer advice for curb appeal that preserves value and attracts potential buyers.
Curb appeal has always been important for homesellers. With the vast majority of today's homebuyers starting their search on the Internet, the appearance of your property is more critical than ever. You only have a few seconds to catch their attention as they scroll through listings online to get them to stop and take a closer look.
But the role of curb appeal goes beyond just making a good first impression. The way your house looks from the street can impact its value. It can also shorten the time it takes to sell your house.
We asked real estate agents, appraisers, home stagers, landscape designers, and home inspectors which curb appeal projects offer the most value when your house is on the market, both in terms of its marketability and dollars. Here is what they told us:

1. Paint the house.

Hands down, the most commonly offered curb appeal advice from our real estate pros and appraisers is to give the exterior of your home a good paint job (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/exterior-paints-and-stains-guide-options/). Buyers will instantly notice it and appraisers will note it on the valuation.
"Paint is probably the number one thing inside and out," says Frank Lucco, managing partner of Houston-based IRR-Residential Appraisers and Consultants. "I'd give additional value for that. If you're under two years remaining life (on the paint job), paint the exterior because it tends to show wear badly."
Just make sure you stay within the range of accepted colors for your market. A house that's painted a wildly different color from its competition will be marked down in value by appraisers.

2. Have the house washed.

Before you make the investment in a paint job, though, take a good look at the house. If it's got mildew or general grunge, just washing the house (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/clean-and-care-siding/) could make a world of difference, says Valerie Torelli, a California real estate agent with a background in accounting.
Before she puts a house on the market, Torelli often does exterior makeovers on her clients' homes, a service she pays for herself to get higher selling prices. Overall, she says her goal is to spend less than $5,000, with a goal of generating an extra $10,000 to $15,000 on the sale price.
Torelli specifies pressure-washing-a job that should be left to professionals. Pressure washing makes the house look "bright and clean in addition to getting rid of unsightly things like cobwebs, which may not be seen from the yard but will detract from the home's cleanliness when seen up close," she says.
The cost to have a professional cleaning should be a few hundred dollars--a fraction of the cost of having the house painted.

3. Trim the shrubs and green up the yard.

California real estate agent Valerie Torelli says she puts a lot of emphasis on landscaping, such as cutting down overgrown bushes and replacing them with leafy plants and annuals mulched with beautiful reddish-brown bark. "It runs me $30 to $50," says Torelli. "Do you get a return on your money? Absolutely. It sucks people in."
You also don't want bare spots. Take the time to fertilize the yard (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/lawn-maintenance-calendar/), throw out some grass seed, and if need be, add some sod.

4. Add a splash of color.

It could be a flower bed of annuals by the mailbox, a paint job for the front door, or a brightly colored bench or an Adirondack chair. "You can get a cute little bench at Home Depot for $99," Torelli notes. "Spray paint it bright red or blue and set it in the yard or on the front porch."
It's not a bad idea, but don't plan on getting extra points from an appraiser for a red bench, says John Bredemeyer, president of Realcorp in Omaha. "It's difficult to quantify, but it does make a home sell more quickly," Bredemeyer says. "Maybe yours sold a couple weeks faster than the house down the street. That's the best way to look at these things."

5. Add a fancy mailbox and house numbers.

An upscale mail box and architectural house numbers or an address plaque can give your house a distinctive look that stands out from everyone else on the block. Torelli makes them a part of her exterior makeovers "I've gotten those hand-painted mailboxes," she says. "A nice one runs you $40 to $50." Architectural house numbers may run as high as a few hundred dollars.

6. Repair or clean the roof.

Springfield, Va.-based home inspector and former builder Reggie Marston says the roof (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/roofing-repair-or-replace/) is one of the first things he looks at in assessing the condition of a home. He'll look at other houses in the neighborhood to see if there are a lot of replaced roofs and see if the subject house has one as well. If not, he'll look for curls in the shingles or missing shingles. "I'm looking at the roof for end-of-life expectancy," he says.
You can pay for roof repairs now, or pay for them later in a lower appraisal; appraisers will mark down the value by the cost of the repair. That could knock thousands of dollars off your appraisal. According to Remodeling Magazine's 2009-2010 Cost vs. Value Report (http://www.remodeling.hw.net/2009/costvsvalue/national.aspx), the average cost of a new asphalt shingle roof is more than $19,000.
"Roofs are issues," Lucco says. "You won't throw money away on that job. You gotta have a decent roof."
Stains and plant matter, such as moss, can be handled with cleaning. It's a job that can often be done in a day for a few hundred dollars, and makes the roof look like new. It's not a DIY project; call a professional with the right tools to clean it without damaging it.

7. Put up a fence.

A picket fence with a garden gate to frame the yard is an asset. A fence (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/fencing-guide-options/) has more impact in a family-oriented neighborhood than an upscale retirement community, Bredemeyer says, but in most instances, appraisers will give extra value for one, as long as it's in good condition. "Day in a day out, a fence is a plus," Bredemeyer says. Expect to pay $2,000 to $3,500 for a professionally installed gated picket fence 3 feet high and 100 feet long.

8. Perform routine maintenance and cleaning.

Nothing sets off subconscious alarms like hanging gutters (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/fast-fixes-common-gutter-problems/), missing bricks from the front steps, or lawn tools rusting in the bushes. It makes even the professionals question what else hasn't been taken care of.
"A house is worth less if the maintenance isn't done," Lucco says. "Those little things can add up and be a very big detractor. When people say, 'I'd buy it if it weren't for all the deferred maintenance (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/value-home-maintenance/),' what they're really saying is, 'I'd still buy it if you reduce the price.'"
Georgia-based freelance writer Pat Curry has covered housing and real estate for consumer and trade publications for more than a decade, including covering new home sales and marketing for BUILDER, the magazine of the National Association of Home Builders.


Smitha Ramchandani is a licensed real estate Broker-Salesperson in Morristown, New Jersey. She is a Buyer Specialist and a Home Marketing Expert.. You can reach Smitha and her team online at: http://www.Morris-Homes.com
Smitha and her team specialize in all Morris County Towns such as Boonton, Chatham, Chester, Convent Station, Denville, East Hanover, Florham ParkHanover, Harding Twp., Mendham, Montville, Morristown, Morris Plains, Morris Twp., Mountain Lakes, Parsippany, RandolphRockaway, Whippany

Thursday, April 15, 2010

March 2010 Condo and Townhome Sales Report- Morris County New Jersey Real Estate Recent Townhome/Condo Sales

March 2010 Condominium and Townhouse Sales Report - Morristown, Madison, Chatham, Denville, Randolph, Parsippany, Rockaway, Hanover, East Hanover, Montville, Morris Plains, Morris Township, Florham Park, Roxbury, Butler, Lincoln Park, Morris Twp., Mount Arlington, Mount Olive, Riverdale, Whippany, Washington Twp., New Jersey Real Estate

Town
Address
List Price
Style
BR
TBT
Gar
Sold Price
Butler Boro  340 CAMBRIDGE DR   $257,200 First Floor Unit 2 2 0 $242,500
Chatham Twp.  25A CANTERBURY RD   $249,000 Townhouse-End Unit 1 1 1 $235,000
Chatham Twp.  142 RIVEREDGE DR   $379,900 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2 1 $365,000
Chatham Twp.  137 TERRACE DR   $499,900 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 1 $490,000
Chatham Twp. 7 Magnolia Place  $1,225,000 Townhouse-End Unit 4 4.1 2 $1,227,000
Chester Twp.  4 PINE TREE LN   $249,900 A-Frame 2 2.1 1 $245,000
Denville Twp.  101 SHEFFIELD CT   $328,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 1.1 1 $314,800
Dover Town  62 E BLACKWELL ST APT B   $180,000 Townhouse-Interior 2 1.1 0 $165,000
East Hanover Twp. 22 FRANKIE LN  $330,000 Townhouse-Interior 3 2 0 $315,000
East Hanover Twp.  1 SHARON DR   $359,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2 0 $327,000
East Hanover Twp. 60 CASTLE RIDGE DR  $439,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2.1 1 $434,000
Florham Park Boro 14 BRANDYWYNE DR   $335,000 Townhouse-End Unit 1 2 1 $315,000
Florham Park Boro  58 BROOKLAKE RD   $399,900 One Floor Unit 2 2 1 $399,000
Hanover Twp. 134 Sunrise Drive  $323,500 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2 1 $315,000
Hanover Twp. 403 PAPERMILL DRIVE  $389,990 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2 1 $379,000
Hanover Twp. 703 Spring Hollow Drive  $525,000 Townhouse-Interior 2 3 2 $542,024
Harding Twp.  5 CEDAR LN   $463,750 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2.1 1 $447,500
Jefferson Twp.  3 PETERSBURG CT   $219,000 Townhouse-Interior 2 2.1 1 $195,000
Jefferson Twp.  2 DAVENPORTS MILL CT   $309,900 Townhouse-End Unit 3 2.1 2 $275,000
Lincoln Park Boro 3 STONYRIDGE DR  $263,000 One Floor Unit 2 1 0 $255,000
Madison Boro  25 BEDFORD CT   $539,900 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 1 $539,900
Mendham Boro  19 PEMBROKE DR   $310,000 Townhouse-Interior 2 1.1 0 $310,000
Mendham Boro  44 N ABERDEEN DR  $425,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2.1 1 $360,000
Mendham Boro  13 WEXFORD DR   $450,000 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 1 $445,000
Montville Twp.  136 CHANGEBRIDGE RD E8  $245,000 Townhouse-End Unit 1 1 0 $235,000
Montville Twp.  43 WASHINGTON CT   $419,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2.1 1 $403,000
Montville Twp.  44 WASHINGTON CT   $425,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2.1 1 $385,000
Montville Twp.  60 WATERFORD DR   $459,900 Townhouse-Interior 2 2.1 1 $430,000
Montville Twp.  22 Aynsley Ct  $554,900 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 1 $530,000
Morris Twp.  58 WITHERSPOON CT   $325,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2.1 1 $315,000
Morris Twp.  8B LEVA DR   $345,000 One Floor Unit 2 2.1 2 $329,000
Morris Twp.  21 WITHERSPOON CT   $355,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2.1 1 $345,000
Morris Twp.  2C LEVA DR   $355,900 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2 2 $332,500
Morris Twp.  12 TIMOTHY CT   $399,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2.1 1 $388,500
Morris Twp.  40 WILDFLOWER LN   $419,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2.1 1 $410,000
Morris Twp.  59 INDEPENDENCE WAY   $449,000 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 1 $415,000
Morris Twp. 70 REDNER RD   $495,000 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 2 $470,000
Morristown Town  24 KING ST   $229,000 First Floor Unit 1 1 0 $207,500
Morristown Town  24 KING ST   $299,000 First Floor Unit 2 1 0 $280,000
Morristown Town 3 Jenni Lane  $399,900 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 1 $390,000
Morristown Town 40 Park Place  $482,000 One Floor Unit 1 1.1 1 $559,000
Morristown Town 110 SOUTH STREET UNIT 101  $530,000 One Floor Unit 1 1.1 2 $475,000
Morristown Town 40 Park Place  $779,000 One Floor Unit 2 2.1 2 $779,000
Mount Arlington Boro  1 MAGNOLIA LANE  $329,000 Townhouse-End Unit 3 2.1 1 $320,000
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp.  2467 ROUTE 10 BLDG 7 Unit7A  $160,000 One Floor Unit 1 1 0 $152,000
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp.  2467 Rte 10 East Unit 15 1B  $168,000 Townhouse-End Unit 1 1 0 $160,000
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp.  2467  Route 10 Bldg 21-8A  $175,000 Townhouse-End Unit 1 1 0 $165,000
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp. 2467 ROUTE 10 E, UNIT 44-1A  $210,000 One Floor Unit 2 1 0 $198,000
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp. 2467 STATE ROUTE 10 APT 31-3A  $214,900 One Floor Unit 2 1 0 $202,500
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp.  83 CONTINENTAL RD   $348,900 Townhouse-Interior 2 1.1 1 $356,000
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp. 76 Summerhill Dr  $359,900 Townhouse-Interior 2 2.1 1 $350,000
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp.  57 PATRIOTS RD   $377,000 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 1 $368,000
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp. 133 JILLIAN BLVD   $459,000 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 1 $452,500
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp.  180 JILLIAN BLVD   $465,900 Townhouse-Interior 2 2.1 1 $430,000
Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp. 59 ALBERT CT  $469,500 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 1 $450,000
Randolph Twp.  9 RIDGEWOOD DR   $400,000 Townhouse-Interior 3 2.1 2 $385,000
Riverdale Boro 1202 WHARTON CT   $227,900 One Floor Unit 1 1 0 $205,000
Riverdale Boro  1305 WHARTON CT   $259,000 Townhouse-Interior 1 1 1 $238,000
Rockaway Twp.  1324 HAMILTON DR   $299,900 One Floor Unit 2 2 2 $279,000
Rockaway Twp. 311 Cleveland Lane  $309,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2 2 $290,000
Roxbury Twp.  58 GARDEN CT   $229,900 Townhouse-End Unit 2 1.1 1 $225,000
Roxbury Twp.  262 DRAKE LN   $259,900 Townhouse-End Unit 2 2 1 $250,000
Roxbury Twp.  46 E WHISPER WAY   $299,900 Townhouse-Interior 2 2.1 1 $290,000
Washington Twp.  95 WIMBLEDON SQUARE  $224,000 Townhouse-End Unit 2 1.1 1 $217,500
Wharton Boro  23152 WESTVIEW  $252,900 Townhouse-Interior 2 1.1 1 $250,000

Smitha Ramchandani is a licensed real estate Broker-Salesperson in Morristown, New Jersey. She is a Buyer Specialist and a Home Marketing Expert.. You can reach Smitha and her team online at: http://www.Morris-Homes.com

Smitha and her team specialize in all Morris County Towns such as Boonton, Chatham, Chester, Convent Station, Denville, East Hanover, Florham ParkHanover, Harding Twp., Mendham, Montville, Morristown, Morris Plains, Morris Twp., Mountain Lakes, Parsippany, RandolphRockaway, Whippany