Tag Archives: real estate appraisal

Green Tips for All Over Your Home

Posted on June 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

Spring is a good time to look at your “green” habits at home. Builders, remodelers, interior designers and real-estate agents encourage ways to improve energy efficiency — “acts of green” — on your own turf.

Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your green value questions.

From lighting to heating/air to appliances to accessories, here are their tips:

Keep the air filters clean: Heating and air can account for up to 30 percent of your utility bills. Make sure your air filters are clean and Freon is charged to proper levels.

Emphasize natural sunlight: Use minimal window coverings to maximize natural light. Paint your north-facing rooms in lighter colors to maximize sunlight in the winter months.

Read more at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2018135989_realecohousetips06.html

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The Benefits of an Energy Audit for Buyers and Sellers

Posted on June 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

It might be a tipoff to a sobering reality: This house is an energy guzzler. Either the asking price comes down, the seller fixes the problems, or you walk.

WASHINGTON — It may be the best-kept secret in residential real estate: For a couple of hundred dollars, a potential buyer thinking about writing a contract on an existing house can ask for a formal energy audit along with the standard inspection clause.

That audit, in turn, can save the buyer thousands of dollars in future operating costs, and pinpoint the specific features of the house that need correction to improve efficiency.

Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com that specialize in energy efficient appraisals.  Make sure you get the correct adjustment on your appraisal for energy efficiency.

It might also be a tipoff to a sobering reality: This house is an energy guzzler. Either the asking price comes down, the seller fixes the problems, or I walk.

Though energy audits have been available to consumers for years — the best known is the so-called “HERS” (Home Energy Rating System) — virtually nobody in the real-estate field promotes them to buyers.

read more at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2018109868_harney06.html

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Sellers, Get Ready for Open House Season

Posted on June 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Keller Williams Realtor Cathy Mankus has guided dozens of clients through getting their homes ready to sell. But in putting her own house on the market, she experienced how tough it can be to follow her own advice.

Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com to determine the value of your home before you start to negotiate.

Take decluttering. It’s essential to keep the buyer’s attention focused on the house and not the furnishings. But even after two large garage sales and selling additional items online, Mankus found she still had too much “stuff.” She cleared out more possessions and brought in a few colleagues to evaluate what she’d done. They all agreed that more had to go.

The problem, said Mankus, “was that I kept on thinking of it as my house, and I can’t think of it as my house anymore. It’s a house for someone else to buy.”
She ended up bringing in professional stagers who could be more detached in deciding what needed to stay and go.

Read more at: http://blog.oregonlive.com/homes-rentals/2012/04/sellers_get_ready_for_open-hou.html

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