WHY HAS MY HOME NOT SOLD YET?

The following are some of the reasons why it is still on the market after 6 months.

TOO MUCH STUFF- If you visit a builders model you will notice the lack of clutter. The less stuff you have the larger your home appears. Rent a large storage unit and fill it with the following:
Half of your clothes (if you have not worn it in a year either give it away or store it).
Most of your dishes, glasses, silverware pots and pans (Kitchens sell homes).
Everything in your garage except the lawn mower ( never show with cars in your garage).
All but 4 toys for each child (keep these out of site)
Most of your personal pictures.
At least one piece of furniture from each room.
REMEMBER LESS IS MORE.

YOUR CURB APPEAL - You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Spend time and money making your outside look Norman Rockwellish. Make sure all of your lights and door bell work. Clean, Paint or Replace anything that does not look new. In the winter have everything that is hard surfaced cleared of snow. In the summer have a well manicured green lawn with lots of colorful flowers.

YOUR HOME IS NOT CLEAN - Your home should look like it belongs in a Mister Clean commercial at all times. Bathrooms, Kitchens and Garages are what need to be white glove. Have your carpets cleaned by a pro. Never have anything on any counters except a bowl of colorful fruit in your kitchen. Always air out your home in the mornings and bake cookies right before a showing.

WRONG PRICE - Your house is not worth what it was last year, period. The housing market does not care what your neighbor's sold for last year. Hire an appraiser to give a true market value. If you ask for a short form it will cost around $150. If you really want to sell, drop that price by 5% and advertise as such. If you owe the bank more than your appraised value and you do not have the cash too make up the difference, you are in the need of professional help.
Consider a Short Sale. That will be the topic of my next posting.

How would you stimulate the economy?

How do you feel about the so called stimulus package? Here is a list of things that I would have liked to have seen.

 1) Eliminate capital gains taxes. 

 2) Lower mortgage rates to 4.5%.  

 3) Give 50 Billion to the first car company who can build a $20,000 electric 4 door sedan that goes 100 miles without a recharge. (I would give a set of steak knifes to the one who comes in second).

 4) Increase Military pay by 25%.

 Tell me what you would have liked to have seen.